
Our goal is to provide advocacy sessions that will empower parents to help their children be successful throughout the school year and beyond. These sessions are also designed to support family growth and sustainability. These sessions were suggested and developed with Parents Challenge parents.
THESE SESSIONS ARE DESIGNED TO BE A RESOURCE FOR PARENTS WHETHER THEIR CHILDREN ATTEND PUBLIC, CHARTER, OR PRIVATE SCHOOLS OR CHOOSE TO HOMESCHOOL.
These sessions are not geared to tell parents what to do, they will be geared to provide parents with tools and resources to make informed decisions regarding their child’s education that can be applied at school or at home. Ideally, these sessions help parents to ask questions, seek additional support, develop goals with their children, learn to assess performance data and develop skills to monitor their students’ overall progress. These sessions also support low-income families with financial and community resources.
2022 Parent Schedule
SPRING Semester
Maroon – Mandatory Sessions
Blue – Regular Advocacy Sessions
Orange – Tracks (must commit to the entire track to receive credit)
You do not receive credit for attending 1 or 2 sessions – ALL sessions must be attended to receive CREDIT for the TRACK
All in-person sessions will have a meal component
Date
Topic
Time
Session #14: Power of Persuasion
Community Project
Mandatory: All Families
This session will feature our 4+Families sharing their journey of “The Red Paper Clip” Communication experience.
Location: Antlers Hotel
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
(Tuesday)
Dr. Regina Lewis,
Professor, Pikes Peak Community College,
Founder – ReginaSpeaks.com
Session #15: Surviving and Thriving Math Concepts (High School)
This session will focus on students conquering Integers, solving different types of Equations and Graphing on the Coordinate Planes. Join this session to discover a new way to help your child enjoy and understand high school math.
Location:
PPLD East Branch
5550 N Union Blvd
Colorado Springs, 80918
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
(Thursday)
Mary Ann Hubl
Owner, Math ETC LLC
Tutoring, Speaker, Math/Algebra/Geometry website
monumentalmath.com
Track #4: Survival Skills: How to get ahead and stay ahead
(Must commit to all three sessions)
Are you tired of missing the mark? Frustrated that those you thought were or should help you, have fallen short. Have you hit enough brick walls and not been able to recover? This series will take you on a journey to set and establish goals to eliminate the ups and downs of staying on track, meeting your expectations, and managing life with all parties involved.
Go on this journey of self-discovery with a former welfare mom who has earned her Ph.D and is a professor at PPCC and the Newman University.
9:00 am – Noon
Dr. Tiko Hardy, LAC, LCSW
Chief Diversity Officer, PPCC
Founder, Pikes Peak Leadership Solutions
February 2
(Virtual)
Session #16: One-on-One Brain Training
If your child is struggling to learn, focus, read, or remember, there’s a good chance the problem is brain-based. The way to address the cause is to strengthen the weak skill that is making learning (and life) harder than it needs to be. One-on-one brain training with one of our certified trainers does exactly that with fun, challenging mental exercises that strengthen weak skills and improve cognitive performance. Our programs are like fitness routine for the mind.
Cognitive Skills Training has supported clients struggling with: Attention Challenges, Reading Challenges, Traumatic Brain Injury, Math Struggles, Speech & Language Disorders, Memory Decline, Learning Disabilities, Autism Spectrum and many more…
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
(Wednesday)
Laura Lynch
Learning RX
Session #17: Chair Yoga
Join us for one-hour of chair yoga. Yoga combines physical exercises, mental meditation, and breathing techniques together to create the mind, body, and spirit connection. We use a chair to provide opportunity for those that need low impact but maximum results.
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
(Thursday)
Leon M Abdullah-Ward
Owner, In-Balance
February 4,
February 11,
February 18,
February 25,
March 4,
March 11
Thrivers Leadership Institute
129 N. Wahsatch
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Final Session
March 18th
Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective at City Auditorium
127 1/2 E. Bijou, Suite 1
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Track #5: Nurturing Fathers
(Must commit to all 7 sessions)
The Nurturing Fathers Program is an evidence – based, parent training course designed to teach parenting and nurturing skills to men. Each 2-hour class session provides proven, effective skills for healthy family relationships and child development. The Nurturing Fathers Program brings together men from all family circumstances to explore what it takes to be their child’s nurturer and teacher. Fathers learn how important it is to provide loving praise and a nurturing and secure environment so that their children gain self-esteem and confidence. The program also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive and supportive co-parenting relationship with the child(ren)’s mother, whether the parents are together or separated.
THIS SESSION IS FOR DADS ONLY.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
(Friday)
Ken Sanders
Certified Master Trainer
Nurturing Fathers – CO
February 7
March 7
April 4
(Virtual)
Track #6: Cooking Matters at Home
(Must commit to all three (3) sessions)
February 7
Cooking Matters at the Store: Shopping on a Budget
This session will discuss how to buy fruits and vegetables on a budget, and practice comparing unit prices, reading food labels, and reading ingredient labels to find whole grains.
March 7
Money-Saver Alert: This session will discuss how to use everything that you have (or have access to), practice using ‘hard to utilize’ ingredients in a variety of recipes and discuss how to save foods that you can’t use right away and how to limit food waste with children while still introducing new foods.
April 4
Spice Up Your Cooking: This session will discuss how to incorporate more spices in your cooking for more flavorful and exciting meals, as well as ways to save money on spices and health benefits of different spices.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Monday)
Jessie Henderson
Taylor Hargis
Care and Share
Session #18: Don’t be Afraid of Math Concepts – Conquer Them
(Middle School)
This session will focus on Conquering number patterns and Sums along with Conquering positive and Negative Integers. Students will work on Percent, Word and Solving Equations. They will be introduced to Geometry Topics. Join this session and learn that “The best angle in math is the Try-Angle”.
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
(Thursday)
Mary Ann Hubl
Owner, Math ETC LLC
Tutoring, Speaker, Math/Algebra/Geometry website
monumentalmath.com
February 17
(Virtual)
**This class is NOT intended to provide legal advice, as Ms. Love is not a practicing lawyer, paralegal, or entity who is allowed to provide case-specific legal advice. This class is meant to give an overview of the ways to navigate the family court process**
Session #19: Survive, Strive, and THRIVE Amidst
Family Court Experiences
Have you experienced past or present trauma or fear around appearing in family court? Are you going to family court in the future and you’re dreading the experience, or fear the unknown? Do you avoid filing paperwork, or have trouble advocating for your family, because the other parent, “has more money, is more powerful, (or) knows how to lie better than I do?” Family court can be an excellent tool to ensure your child’s best interests are legally met, however knowing what to do can be tricky. Visit this class to learn the definitions of terms like: CFI, PCDM, GAL, CASA, Parenting Time, Residential Care and more. Learn about what you really want for your children and family, how to document communications and decisions in an effective way; how to maintain some sort of normalcy for you and your children during family court events; how to retain your power, protect your children, and maintain emotionally healthy while co-parenting with a toxic parent; tools to utilize to increase the efficiency of your case; free and cost-efficient resources for legal advice/representation. If you live in regret, fear, or grief because of family court, please come seek some relief!
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
(Thursday)
Eliza M. Love, M.A.
Pre-K-8th Instructor – D-11
Adjunct Professor,
Grand Canyon University
Session #20: College and Career Success
The next step…how do I prepare for life after high school?
Learn how to explore and choose the pathway that’s right for you to build your future.
Course booklet authored by facilitator will be provided to each participant.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
(Wednesday)
Kristi Smith
Colorado Early Colleges, Colorado Springs
Author, Instructor
Session #21: Rising Seniors
(Juniors/Seniors in High School)
- Financial Budgeting/Savings – Learn how to budget and save while you are still young and free of major responsibilities. With a spending plan, you will be surprised at how much you can save. Also, when you invest your money early, you do not just earn interest on that investment, but over time you also earn interest on your interest. Learn key strategies to “KEEP FROM BEING BROKE”.
- Cooking 101 – In this class we will discuss the advantages of eating right and staying hydrated while living on your own for the first time or in a dorm. We will practice making a quick healthy snack that helps keep us full between meals.
- Time Management – How many times have you started a project/assignment, not accomplished very much, only to look at the clock and discover that it’s time for your next class/project? Where did the time go?
Time seems to be a pretty leaky thing. Unless it’s carefully controlled, it dribbles away second by second, hour by hour. Yet, this very flexibility can be used to your advantage. When you control time, you can learn, in effect, how to make time stand still while you get more projects/assignments done.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
(Saturday)
Jacob Larsen, AAMS
Financial Advisor
Edward Jones
Jessie Henderson
Care and Share
Deborah Hendrix
CD Global Training & Consulting
Session #22: Zumba
Join us for one-hour of exercise. Join us for one-hour of exercise. Zumba is one of the most popular exercise crazes in recent years, and with good reason! There are many health benefits of zumba, including its ability to burn fat, work out the entire body, boost the metabolism, increase endurance, boost mood, aid coordination, and improve confidence.
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
(Thursday)
Leon M Abdullah-Ward
Owner, In-Balance
Session #23: Making Math Make Sense
(Elementary School)
This session will focus on Number Patterns for Addition, Multiples, Rounding Numbers, Fractions and Dealing with Decimals. Join this session and help your younger scholars understand that “Practice makes progress” rather than ‘Practice makes perfect’.
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
(Wednesday)
Mary Ann Hubl
Owner, Math ETC LLC
Tutoring, Speaker, Math/Algebra/Geometry website
monumentalmath.com
March 17
(Virtual)
Session #24: Learning Your Way
It is important to understand how you learn in relation to how you work with others. This is particularly true for parents working with their children. This interactive session will help you to use how you learn to improve how you work with others at home and work. Participants will explore learning styles and identify their own unique style.
(Thursday)
Dr. Bridgitt Mitchell
Administrator, Professor, and Consultant
April 7
(Virtual)
Session #25: Renew your Parenting Journey with a Review of the Pillars for Success
If you have participated in any of the Pillars for Success Parenting Trainings offered by Parents Challenge, be sure to attend this fun-filled, energy packed review of the 9 Pillars of Successful Parenting.
We will:
- Review the main ideas of each of the 9 Pillars,
- Explore how each of the Pillars apply to your achieving successful interactions with your children
- Answer your questions as they arise
THIS SESSION IS FOR PARENTS ONLY
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
(Thursday)
Sandra Kwesell
Founder
Pillars for Success – Families in Transition
Please be advised. These sessions could be changed or postponed due to instructor cancellations, school dynamics or limited enrollment.
-
Giving parents the tools to help their daughters and sons succeed – and a voice in where they go to school – is a powerful formula for success. That is the secret sauce that makes Parents Challenge so effective.Dick CelesteFormer Governor of Ohio | Former President of Colorado College | Board of Directors for Battelle for Kids
-
Parents Challenge has been working with parents to put scholars on a trajectory for success. I applaud them for reaching over 2000 scholars in Colorado Springs with the support that will help them to reach their full potential.Michael F. BennetU.S. Senator
-
Parents Challenge provides quality education for low-income students, a life-changing opportunity for those who might not otherwise have a chance for a good life. Parents Challenge is great; the gold standard of community activism and service.Late William L. ArmstrongFormer U.S. Senator | President of Colorado Christian University
-
Congratulations to Parents Challenge, an organization that is empowering parents with the tools and resources to help them choose what is best for their children.Steve BachFormer Mayor of Colorado Springs
-
Parents Challenge helps parents engage their child’s school. The organization empowers parents to learn more about quality schools and also guides them in fulfilling their responsibilities as parents. The Harrison School District is happy to work with such a partner in transforming education for our community.Mike MilesFormer Superintendent of Harrison School District 2
-
It is clear that when parents know what is really going on at their kids’ schools, they become more engaged and active. That is key to changing the education system for poor kids.Steve SchuckCEO Schuck Corporation