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Beech Acres Parenting Center affirms the worth and dignity of all children. We believe that discrimination based on gender identity or expression is damaging to the health of children, families, and society. As the fight for inclusion moves from public restrooms  to school locker rooms, Beech Acres unequivocally and emphatically stands in solidarity with transgender youth, and all transgender individuals.  We recognize that transgender youth do not always receive the support, affirmation, and safety they need and deserve. Transgender children are more likely to experience victimization and violence which significantly and negatively impact their mental and emotional health1:  43% of transgender youth have been bullied on school property compared to 18% of cisgender youth 29% of trans youth have been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property compared to 7% of cisgender youth 29% of transgender youth have attempted suicide, compared to 7% of cisgender youth Among trans, nonbinary, or GNC students who reported that their school had policies to support students trans students, only 42.4% reported that their school’s policy addressed inclusive participation in athletics. Beech Acres Parenting Center is committed to combatting discrimination, bigotry, hatred, and violence, against transgender individuals, especially those living at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities.  Moreover, we work to ensure that the adults in children’s lives are doing everything possible to support transgender youth. There are many ways to support transgender youth and their families, including the following: Support the Equality Act, which ensures protection in key areas of life where civil rights laws do not provide protections on the basis of sex. The bill was reintroduced in Congress in February of this year: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5 Learn about the work of the Parents for Transgender Equality National Council and the resources they provide to support transgender children and their parents: https://www.hrc.org/resources/parents-for-transgender-equality-national-council Learn about Welcoming Schools, an initiative of the Human Rights Campaign, helps schools embrace family diversity end bullying, and avoid gender stereotyping: https://www.welcomingschools.org/ Read to your children about transgender and LGBTQ+ children and families. See the Welcoming Schools Recommended Books: https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/WS-Booklist-012121.pdf?mtime=20210121172249&focal=none Understand your school’s policy on trans participation in sports. Endorse policies that allow for inclusive participation in sports which encourages all students to have an equal opportunity in education, which includes extracurricular activities and sports, so they can reach their full potential and thrive. https://www.glsen.org/activity/gender-affirming-inclusive-athletics-participation Take the text message course Understanding and Supporting Transgender Youth, brought to you by the team at Beech Acres Parenting Center! In this course, you’ll be given a brief introduction to who and what the term “transgender” refers to. You’ll also learn ways to support transgender youth while they learn about and express their gender identity. 1https://www.hrc.org/news/new-cdc-data-shows-lgbtq-youth-are-more-likely-to-be-bullied-than-straight-cisgender-youth

“Do you have parenting classes?” It’s one of the most frequent questions we’re asked. While we offer do classes through our Parent Enrichment Program and parent coaching through Parent Connext®, we also cover a wide range of parenting topics through our Natural Strength Parenting™ To Go text-based courses powered by Arist. Parenting courses wherever and whenever you are! That’s right, Natural Strength Parenting™, Beech Acres Parenting Center’s unique approach to parenting, is now available on the go with these unique text message-based courses! That’s right! You can get the latest parenting expertise delivered straight to your mobile phone*. Natural Strength Parenting™ to Go! Welcome to Natural Strength Parenting 101! This seven day course explores ways to positively utilize you and your child’s natural emotional strengths in your unique parenting journey. Using a strength-based approach aims to improve parenting quality and the quality of relationships between parents and their children. Welcome to Mindfulness with Intentionality! This five day course explores some basic concepts of mindfulness and how you can utilize them to set intentions for personal goals in your life. Any kind of intention that you would like to set can be used within this course. Welcome to Intentionality with Family Values! This five day course explores what your family’s shared values consist of and how you can implement them into your daily life to make a positive impact on your family. Parenting Infants and Toddlers is a five-day course designed to share information about physical, cognitive, and emotional traits in infants and toddlers during their respective developmental phases. This course is brought to you by Beech Acres Parenting Center. Parenting Preschool and School-Aged Children is a six-day course designed to share information about physical, cognitive, and emotional traits in preschool and elementary school-aged children during their respective developmental phases. This course is brought to you by the team at Beech Acres Parenting Center. Parenting Pre-Teens and Teenagers is a six-day course designed to share information about physical, cognitive, and emotional traits in tweens and teenagers during their respective developmental phases. This course is brought to you by the team at Beech Acres Parenting Center. Welcome to ADHD and ADD Basics! This five-day course explores some basic aspects of ADHD and ADD and how to spot them. This course will provide you with basic skills to help identify ADHD and ADD in yourself and your family. In this course, you’ll be given a brief introduction to who and what the term “transgender” refers to. You’ll also learn ways to support transgender youth while they learn about and express their gender identity. In this course, you’ll be given a brief introduction to talking to your children about divorce and how to keep them informed throughout the process. *Texting fees may apply.

Whenever possible, reuniting children with their biological parents is a top priority. National Reunification Month June is National Reunification Month, an opportunity to celebrate the perseverance of parents, professionals, and children to keep families together. Beech Acres Parenting Center is committed to the path of reunification when that is in the best interest of the family. This month we will be highlighting stories of perseverance and reunification as well as some of our programs that aim to strengthen parents and empower them with the tools to succeed. Standing behind those who stand up for kids in foster care for more than 40 years. Serving Greater Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Dayton & Montgomery County. We build a community around our foster parents. Our foster families support each other, build each other up, and offer a support network of people with shared experiences and unique perspectives to help every family succeed. Whether you’re a grandparent, aunt, uncle or another relative, taking care of a loved one’s children full-time… we are here for you! Being able to be cared for by a relative reduces traumatic experiences for your grandchild, niece, nephew, or other relative or loved one. The Parent Enrichment Program provides comprehensive support for the “whole” parent, through a variety of proven and evidenced-based methodologies to help parents reach their goals. Learn more. Natural Strength Parenting™ is a unique approach to parenting from Beech Acres Parenting Center. Natural Strength Parenting™ encourages you to be intentional and mindful in your parenting while focusing on your child’s innate strengths. Building on their strengths will increase their confidence, self-esteem, and resilience all of which lead to positive well-being. We promise these skills aren’t hard, and more of your conversations will be about what’s going right vs. what they did wrong!

Beech Acres Parenting Center announces its next President and CEO will be Laura Mitchell, whose extraordinary passion for families, children and community form a perfect fit with the contemporary parenting agency’s innovative, successful track record of helping parents and communities raise children who can thrive in today’s complex and confusing world. Ms. Mitchell will lead Beech Acres as it builds upon 42 years of progressive innovation under the guidance of Jim Mason, who is retiring in June. “I’m excited to embrace this new calling as President and CEO of Beech Acres Parenting Center and build on the achievements of the past 42 years under Jim’s leadership,” Mitchell said. “I look forward to being a part of the effort to help more children, families and caregivers unlock the power they already have to fully thrive during these challenging times.” Ms. Mitchell’s lifetime of service has been centered on helping children become successful. Since 2017, she has served as superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools, Greater Cincinnati’s largest school district. She had previous roles as deputy superintendent, program manager, principal, and teacher over a period of 27 years. Ms. Mitchell is already a member of the Beech Acres family. She has served on the Beech Acres Board of Directors since 2016, and her familiarity with its people, programs, and the community position her for a seamless transition to accelerate the agency’s growth. Her first day with Beech Acres in this new role will be June 15. “Laura and I enjoy an authentic relationship, and we share a hopeful vision for the well-being of children, their families, and the institutions that serve them,” Mason said. “Her compassion for others and strength-based leadership style will leverage Beech Acres’ positive culture to achieve greater levels of community impact than ever before.” Ms. Mitchell has a special understanding of the challenges faced by many of the families and children Beech Acres serves. As superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools, she sees the personal struggles children bring into the classrooms and has witnessed firsthand how Beech Acres’ unique, holistic strength-building approach can make a real difference in their lives. A Beech Acres search committee conducted a thorough, nationwide search after Mr. Mason announced his retirement last year. “We are looking forward to the next chapter of Beech Acres,” said Jenny Franta, the board chair for Beech Acres. “Laura’s passion for children and families, business acumen in leading complex organizations, her combination of strategic thinking and inspirational executive leadership, and her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion make her the ideal candidate to lead Beech Acres.” Jim Mason led the former General Protestant Orphan Home through its transition from a 19th century orphanage to the 21st century parenting center it is today. Mr. Mason received numerous awards and recognitions for his forward-thinking approach to children and families. Under his leadership, Beech Acres deepened and expanded its mission, inspired by his vision which focuses on intentionally building upon children’s strengths. About Beech Acres: At Beech Acres Parenting Center, we uncover the natural gifts of children by unleashing the power of parents and caregivers. As a contemporary parenting center, BAPC serves over 15,000 people annually through a wide range of services including foster care, kinship care, adoption, behavioral health support in schools, parent coaching and much more. All of our programs are founded in our Natural Strength Parenting™ framework which enables parents to unlock their own potential by building on their unique strengths. For more information, visit www.beechacres.org. Media Contact:        Peter Osborne 513-729-9517 peter.osborne@keypointpr.com Download the full press release here.

May 3rd-May 7th 2021 is Teacher Appreciation Week! After the last year, teachers need appreciation more than ever! Make sure you take a chance to #ThankATeacher this week. Download one of these cards featuring The Character Effect™ Characters and let your favorite teacher know you appreciate them!

May is #FosterCareMonth! We are challenging you to “take a chance” on foster care this month. Learn more about #fostercare, begin your foster care journey, resume your training, or make a donation to support our program. Will you take a chance by opening your heart and your home to the community’s most vulnerable children? Get started today!

This month The Character Effect™ brings you the May Family Engagement Challenge! We’ll be focusing on the strengths of honesty and leadership! Download the tips and get started today!

Today the Beech Acres Parenting Center community breathes a collective sigh of relief with our country, the citizens of Minneapolis, the family and friends of George Floyd, our Black employees, clients, and partners, and the entire world. Yesterday, twelve men and women chose accountability. Accountability for the murder of George Floyd. Accountability for the trauma inflicted on the Minneapolis community. Accountability for the young Black men and women who fear for their lives whenever they leave their homes. Accountability for the mothers and fathers who are filled with a sense of dread and desperation when their children aren’t home and they hear a siren in the distance.  Accountability is just, but it is not justice. Justice would mean equity. Justice would mean fairness. Justice would mean George Floyd was still alive.  There is much work still to be done. What we say to our children and to each other can define what accountability, equity, justice, and fairness look like. Set an intention to talk to your children about racial inequality and injustice. Be mindful to teach them acceptance and inclusion. Develop their strengths of judgment, kindness, perspective, and fairness.  Our children are watching. What we do next matters.