Chesterfield County Public Schools Better Together Family and Community Engagement, Cat Tompkins

SAMHSA’s “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign is geared to help parents and caregivers prepare for some of the most important conversations they may ever have with their children. A newly updated app for the cell phone takes parents through scenarios of everyday situations and turns them into opportunities to talk with their children about alcohol and other drugs. Working through the app equips parents and caregivers with the necessary skills, confidence, and knowledge to start and continue ...

It is estimated that people change careers an average of 5-7 times throughout their working life. The 21st century world is full of career possibilities. Technological advancements will likely increase the 5-7 career average for our students and many occupations they will seek, do not yet exist. How do we prepare our students for the future workforce? How does a student seek out the most interesting career path that will meet his/her needs? One answer may be considering the C...

How do you want your child to be online? What will his/her digital footprint look like? How should children behave in digital platforms? Often times, we focus on the things that we do not want our kids to do online. For a change, let's ponder what we want them to do online. Let's think about all the positive ways our children and students can interact with technology and use the tools for good. The International Society for Technology Education or ISTE has come up with 5 key competencies that...

What kind of mindset do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? A person with a “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any significant way, and if we experience success it is because we are a "natural" at certain tasks. On the other hand, a person with a “growth mindset,” is up for a challenge and sees failure as evidence opportunity for growth. We can manifest a fixed or growth mindset from a very early ...

Do you have a little guy or gal heading off to "big school" this year? If so, this episode of the Engage Chesterfield Podcast is for you! We will share a few things parents can do over the summer to prep for this monumental first day and year of elementary school.Jana Kline, principal of Alberta Smith ES, shares important self-help skills that kindergartners need and bus riding tips. Kristen Hepburn, CCPS Literacy Specialist talks about everyday tasks and teachable moments that pa...