Helping Our Kids Thrive: Supporting Students' Social & Emotional Health

The Palo Alto Council of PTAs' #1 goal is to "Advocate for, promote, and support student social, emotional and physical health." It has been for years. Hundreds of volunteers across our district work towards this goal every day.

As parents, we recognize that issue touches our kids from kindergarten through their senior year in our school district and beyond. Today, in our community, we worry more than ever about our kids and their social and emotional health. With four deaths by suicide in six months our families are shaken.

Since last fall a number entities from across the city have collaborated to address the issues associated with the cluster of deaths by suicide at the train tracks. Among the many agencies participating are the City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Police Department, Palo Alto Unified School District, Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Adolescent Counseling Services, Youth Community Service, Caltrain and others. The team came to be known as "Project Safety Net". The PTA brings the voices and energy of thousands of families to the table.

Interested in learning more? See the Project Safety Net website at www.cityofpaloalto.org/safetynet

Up next in our Helping our Kids Thrive series, we have #1 New York Times Bestseller author Po Bronson coming to Palo Alto High School's Haymarket Theater, on May 6th, to talk about his book NURTURESHOCK:NEW THINKING ABOUT CHILDREN. http://info.paloaltopta.org/docs/100506PoBronsonFlyer.pdf

Artworks from Reflections