400 grandparents attended programs at Deerfield Public Schools this fall, to learn more about the school world of their 6th to 12th grade grandchildren. Grandparents of 6th and 7th graders at Shepard Middle School learned about social emotional learning and typical social media use at that age. 40 grandparents went to the annual Freshman Connection…
Grandparents, when they unleash their creativity and use their skills and passions, can have a transformative effect on their families. I set up my first Grandparent Connection School Program at Deerfield High School in 2009. The Deerfield High School grandparent program is still going strong, with 300 grandparents expected to attend the event for senior…
“Be sure to tell us about sex and drugs,” advised Jerry Witkovsky, originator of the Grandparent Connection program, now in its fifth year at Deerfield High School in Deerfield, IL. But first, new principal Kathy Anderson kicked off the Freshman Connection program for forty or so grandparents who filled the faculty cafeteria for this special…
As my own grandchildren got older, it became clear that maintaining strong connection was increasingly challenging as their schedules grew more demanding and their academics, extracurriculars, and friendships predominated. Something else was clear too: that the high school years are a critical period during which close bonds with caring family members are more important than…
