Letter From Andrew Scrivo, Program Director- Youth360:
Hello Seward Parents and Caregivers,
My name is Andrew Scrivo, the Youth360 program director for the Seward Prevention Coalition, and I would like to invite you to our 2025 Parent Collaboratives.
As you may know, Youth360 hosts a series of workshops called Parenting Collaboratives, as a part of our implementation of the Icelandic Prevention Model(IPM) here in Seward.
The IPM is an ‘it-takes-a-village’ approach to prevention’ and is centered around the public school as a hub of the community. For those reasons, a major focus of our collaboratives is to build connections between parents of like-aged children, create a web of support, and knowledge of resources- so no one feels like they are parenting alone. A second major goal is to bridge the gap between our homes and schools, finding new and creative ways to support our teachers, staff and students in their important roles.
We began these workshops last year, and have seen many positive outcomes including:
· Supported Open Houses at all 3 Schools
· Middle School Lunch Volunteer Program
· Parent Directory @ Seward El
· Stay and Play Event
· Increased parental involvement
· Increased membership in PTA and Site Council
· Increased school volunteerism in all 3 schools
· Play Date Cards @ Seward El
· Increased collaborations between schools
and community
· Increased awareness of youth substance use and overall teen experience in Seward from local data
· and more…
The meetings are recurring, on Mondays, and will start at 5:15pm, lasting 60 minutes. Onsite childcare will be provided in partnership with Seward Parks and Rec staff for the Elementary and Middle School Groups.
These Parent Collaboratives are a great opportunity for families to engage directly in prevention work, and are as beneficial for parents as they ultimately will be for our children.
Consider joining us in this important work for our children and community.
Please see the attached flyer and mark your calendars for our upcoming dates!
Here’s to doing more together,
-Andrew
