PARENTING CONFERENCE TO BE HELD BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Parents of school-aged children in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, facing issues ranging from homework and sports to stress and AIDS, will have an opportunity to learn and share ideas at a meeting in March.

The parenting conference is designed to help parents help their children and is presented by the public school districts in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. It's the first joint meeting of this type ever held, say organizers.

The parenting conference, titled "Bridging the Gap: Working together to strengthen the future of our children, our schools and our communities," will be held March 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Southeast Missouri State University Center.

The two keynote speakers for the conference are H. Stephen Glenn, author of "Raising Self-Reliant Children In a Self-Indulgent World," and Linda Sonna, author of "The Homework Solution: Getting Kids to Do Their Homework."

Other topics planned for the conference include teens and stress, kids and sports, AIDS and our children, home-school partnerships, homework solutions, and "old enough to stay alone."

The conference is free for parents. Even lunch will be provided to those who pre-register. Money for the conference is being raised through corporate sponsorships.

"We are thrilled with the amount of support we have received from the community," said Becky Kies, co-chairman of the event. "When we first started planning, we were going to be happy just to get some parents there. Now I think we can have a really big event."

Kies is president of the PTA at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School. Donna Boardman is also co-chairman. She is on the PTO board in Jackson.

Boardman said they are hoping that more than 100 parents will turn out for the event.

Last year, Kies spoke about Glenn's "Developing Capable People" program at a meeting of the Cape Girardeau PTA council.

Afterwards, Cape Girardeau Superintendent Neyland Clark suggested holding a community-based parent meeting. The conference grew from that conversation.

"I called Donna to see if she knew when Steve Glenn might be available and we got to talking. The topics are for all parents. We thought it could be a wonderful way to get the two school districts together," Kies said.

Jackson Superintendent Wayne Maupin supported the idea also.

Boardman said: "The whole idea is to provide information to parents. So many social service agencies and parent groups are trying to strengthen the bond between home and school," said Boardman.

"All the PTA information I see talks about parent involvement in schools," said Kies.

"Children are involved in a lot of events in which both communities are involved," Boardman said. "There really aren't any boundaries between the communities, and parents all have the same issues to deal with; besides, it's never been done."

For more information or to register, call 335-7908.