Second in a series
Re “At Free Summer Lunch, District Feeds Brain as Well as the Mouth”
[img]2627|right|||no_popup[/img]The more you stand and listen to the veteran administrator Drew Sotelo talk about the new additions to the free Summer Lunch and Learning program, the clearer it becomes that the School District aggressively is seeking wider serious parent participation in this second year of the feeding plan.
As the second day of the seven-week Summer Lunch dawns today at 11:30 at LaBallona Elementary, Mr. Sotelo, co-director of the program, was reviewing a variety of the educational parent-targeted events surrounding the 90-minute lunch and play and learn outing.
Starting Thursday, the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center will provide workshops for parents, with foci on early childhood development and how to parent teens who may be involved with substance abuse.
A two-day workshop for incoming Middle School parents will be offered.
The Venice Family Clinic is offering free dental screenings on a number of days, including today.
From UCLA, the Jules Stein Eye Institute will be seeing adults and students, “by appointment only,” Mr. Sotelo emphasized. “If a child needs glasses, they will provide free glasses.
“So you can see,” said the School District’s director of pupil services, “that a lot of wonderful opportunities are and will be available.
“I didn’t mention that Atlas Chiropractic also is coming out.
A lot of community partners are joining us, and more are to be announced.”
The renewed emphasis on increased adult involvement this summer, said Mr. Sotelo, grew out of a desire expressed last year by parents who wanted substantive programming as long as they were on the LaBallona campus.
“In particular, they wanted workshops on how to help their children.
“And we,” said Mr. Sotelo, “have tried to respond.”
(To be continued)
