PTSO launches Project Cornerstone workshop for parents

Project Cornerstone’s first meeting on Oct. 23 about the human brain.

The Parent Education Panel and Wellness Center collaborate to support the social-emotional well-being of the community.

Project Cornerstone — a YMCA of Silicon Valley Initiative run by volunteers in the community to ensure the youth are valued, respected and supported — began hosting workshops for the parents and guardians of students in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District.

So far, Project Cornerstone, which partners with schools throughout the Bay Area in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County, has served over 56,500 students through its school programs and educated over 800 parents annually through the parent workshops.

“Our mission is to support the mental health and well-being of all youth by fostering the development of healthy social and emotional skills,” said Debbi Headley, the School Partnerships Director at Project Cornerstone and the workshop facilitator for the workshop series. “We do this by educating adults on how to cultivate caring and supportive relationships with youth.”

The three 90-minute workshops this school year will discuss topics of drugs, technology, sleep, stress, self-care and communication and will be held at the school’s library. The first meeting took place on Oct. 23, and the other two are scheduled for Feb. 15 and March 14.

The first meeting was an introduction to the adolescent’s brain, designed to help attendees understand how teenagers cope with stress and emotions. Roughly 52 parents and guardians attended the first workshop.

The psychology of teens will be explored more deeply in the second meeting, which will promote stress management and foster resiliency by teaching parents how to emphasize self-care and communication to teenagers.

Lastly, the third meeting will talk about inclusion and building a community with diversity, along with activities to build awareness in order to ensure teenagers feel valued and respected.

The meetings are free, and the topics of the meetings were decided through surveys sent to parents at the beginning of the school year.

“We are pleased to partner with Saratoga High School and the PTSO, and hope to reach as many parents as possible and invite the Saratoga High School parent community to join us,” Headley said.