Ready or Not… Expert Advice for a Smooth Start to the School Year
written by Liza Bennigson, 
Associate Director of Marketing and Communications
The only thing certain about this school year is that no one knows what to expect. Parents, students and staff are feeling apprehensive about what the transition to full-time, on-campus learning will look like after over a year of fits and starts. We may be eager for our kids to jump right back into academics to make up for inevitable learning loss, but we also know that they first and foremost need to feel safe, secure and emotionally ready to learn. Read more ›
For most students, the 2021-22 academic year will be starting in-person, and won’t feel like last year — but it will still feel different from years past. Despite so many unknowns on the horizon, there are challenges you can anticipate. 
Executive functioning isn’t something that just crops up during adolescence. Our kids have been working on their 
Cultivating strong friendships isn’t easy for every child — pandemic or no pandemic. Neurodiverse children or those with behavioral or mental health needs may require additional external support for themselves and their caregivers. Here’s how you can help your child make and keep friends — at any age. 
The way we talk to our kids about using technology can have a huge impact on their ability to become smart and well-rounded adults. After years of researching how to moderate kids’ screen time, I discovered how the most successful parents help their kids find balance. 
When 
The young teen years are a ripe time for forming friendships. It’s an age when kids are particularly focused on peer relationships and social status, developing their sense of identity and social skills. 
With so much to do, buy, and organize, parents might overlook another crucial way of equipping kids for school — getting them mentally prepared. Karen Stewart, MD, adult and child and adolescent psychiatrist for Kaiser Permanente in Georgia offers 5 tips for reducing back-to-school anxiety. 
Is your child having trouble developing friendships? Help him feel more confident with these tips and activities for making friends at school. 
For those children that struggle with anxiety in school, in particular, school closures provided a natural escape from having to face their fears. Many with performance anxiety found temporary relief in the transition to open note testing and pass-fail grading systems, and those with social anxiety seized the opportunity to turn off their cameras and retreat from the classroom. 
