Parent Appreciation Day
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We can never do enough to thank our parents, grandparents and guardians but we do designate a special day to honor them and all they do for their students and to support Monarch. On April 18th we had a terrific morning thanking our parents for all they do!
Our Starbucks’ Partners volunteered their time and delicious coffee and tea to serve our parents.
World Renowned Youth Advocates Come to Monarch
In April, The Monarch Community hosted two passionate youth advocates in honor of Autism Acceptance Month. Howard Bath and Larry Brendtro toured the Monarch campus, learned about the Monarch programs and shared their insights with our community during two sessions.
The first session was in collaboration with the Challenger Voyager students, exploring the connections between the Circles of Courage model for reclaiming youth, and our own work on relationship development.
The second session invited parents and professionals from the Special Schools Coalition to hear from these two experts as they shared their insight with regard to how children with neurological differences are being served and supported, and the pressing needs and challenges that are arising with the worldwide proliferation of individuals with neurological differences.
Howard Bath, PhD, is the Children’s Commissioner in Australia’s Northern Territory where he advocates for the well-being of vulnerable children and families, a majority of whom are Indigenous Australians. Howard is a registered psychologist with broad experience in direct service roles and as executive of a children’s agency and founder of a national training institute. He has particular interest in children and youth with Asperger’s and related diagnoses who are experiencing conflict in family, school, peer group, community, and the justice system. He links neuroscience to strength based practice in training caregivers, educators, therapists, and other youth serving professionals throughout Australia and abroad. He is also published in areas of family resilience, residential treatment, and behaviour management for special populations, particularly children who have experienced neurological challenges and relational trauma. Dr. Bath is a senior trainer in the Circle of Courage model of reclaiming youth and in Starr Commonwealth’s Montcalm School program for students on the Autism spectrum.
Larry K. Brendtro, PhD, is former president of Starr Commonwealth which provides a full spectrum of treatment, education, and community based services at multiple campuses from headquarters in Albion, Michigan. He is currently dean of the Starr Global Learning Network which operates training institutes applying the Circle of Courage resilience model in addressing the full range of challenges facing children, youth, and families with special needs. He has been a licensed psychologist for four decades and draws on a wide range of direct experience as a youth worker, educator, and clinician. He taught on the faculties of the University of Illinois, The Ohio State University, and Augustana College. Dr. Brendtro is founding editor of the journal Reclaiming Children and Youth and has co-authored a dozen books and 200 articles advancing evidence based practices that respect and empower youth as full partners in their own growth and development. He and Starr’s current president, Martin Mitchell, are co-authors of Deep Brain Learning which is a blueprint for designing environments where all young people can flourish.
We are thrilled to announce we have just successfully completed the fundraising needed to meet the match requirements to receive the $750,000 challenge grant from The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation.
