Half-Day Seminars (1:00 - 5:00 pm)

"Parenting the Strong-Willed Child"
Instructor: Nicholas Long, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Effective Parenting

Description: This seminar will provide an overview of a 6-week parenting program curriculum based on the book Parenting the Strong-Willed Child. This program is based on extensive research and clinical experiences over the past 25 years. Numerous research studies have found the skills presented in the curriculum to be very effective when working with families individually. The curriculum takes these skills and presents them within a parenting class format. The program is designed for parents of children 2-6 years old who are strong-willed and do not comply with parental direction. Participants will learn about the various strategies taught within the program and will be provided with a copy of the curriculum. This seminar will benefit parent educators who work with parents of young, strong-willed children.

"Fatherhood: A Man and His Children"
Instructor: Shedd McWilliams, Ph.D.
Director of PeopleCARE Clinic, John Brown University

Presenter: Dr. McWilliams earned a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Texas Tech University with a minor in Child Development and Family Relations. He holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas. A promoter of strong marriages and families, he not only directs the PeopleCARE Clinic in Siloam Springs, but he also serves on the Steering Committee of the Community Marriage Policy of the Springdale area.
Description: Fatherhood is at a critical point in our history. Some believe that fatherhood is unnecessary after conception has occurred. Research suggests that the presence and involvement of fathers with their children is an important component of healthy development. This workshop should particularly benefit those who are male mentors, those who teach parenting skills to fathers and to fathers themselves.

"ADHD — Guiding Parents through Diagnosis and Treatment"
Instructor: Thomas T. Lawson, Ph.D.
Psychologist, Northwest Arkansas Pediatric Clinic

Presenter: Dr. Lawson holds a doctorate from Mississippi State College and completed his internship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Currently he works as a Pediatric Psychologist with Northwest Arkansas Pediatric Clinic specializing in ADHD behavior and learning problems.
Description: This workshop will explore the many facets of Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD. Discussion will include how the diagnosis is made and what treatment options are most appropriate. Once the treatment options are specified, this seminar will teach how to integrate them appropriately into home and school. Also discussed will be what special accommodations need to be made for the child so that they can flourish. This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in learning what ADHD is, how you separate it from adjustment problems, learning, language, behavior and emotional problems.

Full-Day Seminars (9:00 am - 5:00 pm)

Effective Black Parenting, Curriculum Training
Ida Collier, BA
Parent Educator, Center for Effective Parenting, Little Rock

Presenter: Ms. Collier has worked with families and systems for families over the past twelve years in the areas of mental health and child welfare. She attended Ouachita Baptist University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with an emphasis in Political Science. She attended Milwaukee Area Technical College in pursuit of an Associate of Arts in management. She has been certified in several parenting curriculums, Systematic Training for Effective Parenting, Effective Black Parenting, Active Parenting, Common Sense Parenting, Raising a Thinking Child, Nurturing Program, and Parents As Teachers. Ida is currently with the Center for Effective Parenting in Little Rock, AR as a Parent Educator. She is also a trainer of instructors for the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring in Studio City, CA.
Description: This dynamic and award-winning program focuses on raising proud and confident African-American children. Developed by Kerby T. Alvy, Executive Director of the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, (CICC), this culturally affirming and relevant skill-building program is research validated, parent tested and extensively utilized. This one-day workshop will present a fast paced experience of the Effective Black Parenting Curriculum. Developed and based on the writings of African-American scholars and educators, this seminar engages participants in an interactive journey of African-American history and child rearing practices to raise our most valuable natural resource for our future, our children. This seminar will discuss some of the special problems African-American children and their parents face as a result of our country’s history of racism and discrimination. This program is beneficial for parent educators who work with African-American parents.

"MegaSkills & Leader Training for Parent Involvement"
A training program for educators and community leaders working with families to help children.
Instructor: Harriett Stonehill
Director, MegaSkills Education Center, Washington, D.C.

Presenter: Harriett Stonehill is Director of the MegaSkills Education Center in Washington, D.C. She serves as Senior Coordinator of the New Partnerships for Student Achievement program, a community based family/school program grant to the Home and School Institute, Inc. from the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation. With Dorothy Rich, Harriett developed the MegaSkills Leader Training Handbook - a comprehensive guide for parent workshops, the MegaSkills Essentials for the Classroom Handbook — a comprehensive guide for a MegaSkills classroom program, the New MegaSkills Bond Training and the MegaSkills Parent Handbook and English/Spanish Handbook for families to use with their children. She is a presenter at major conferences and has appeared on television programs across the country. She has conducted MegaSkills Training in over 45 states.
Description: This one day MegaSkills Leader Training for Parent Involvement trains educators to become MegaSkills leaders for conducting parent workshops for families. It enables families to become active educators of their children in ways that provide increased academic achievement but not duplicate the work done by schools. MegaSkills Leaders work with parents and grandparents in their own communities. The program provides complete training materials and reproducible handouts for parents. Benefits of the program include: increased student academic achievement; improved student attitudes and performance; greater parent understanding of schools; increased parent-child communication; and increased parent use of community resources.
Each participant receives everything needed to conduct the Program: the MegaSkills book, the MegaSkills Workshop Kit that includes a MegaSkills Workshop Guide for eleven workshops and a Management Guide, a packet of Home Learning Activity Handouts (camera-ready sheets, grade-coded) and additional supplementary materials. All materials are available in Spanish.