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Beech Acres Parenting Center is very excited and grateful to share that we have been named one of The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Top Workplaces for the 8th consecutive year! Beech Acres Parenting Center ranked #3 out of 32 businesses and organizations in the midsize category. Additionally, Beech Acres was thrilled to have won a Managers Specialty Award. What employees are saying about working at Beech Acres Parenting Center: “Yes, my manager is very open to questions and concerns. I feel like I am trusted to do my job. I am never ashamed when I do not have an answer or need clarification.” “I can use my creative thought process and help create a better future for parents and children.” Want to learn more about working at the Beech? Visit our careers page and start your journey today!

Get your family moving and stay fit together with these simple tips from Parent Connext™! Get Started Hold a family meeting. Talk about the importance of exercise and brainstorm ways you can be more active. Finally, commit to be fit! Consider tracking your progress to help you stay on track. Try Something New Try something new together: a kickball game or game of catch, going for a hike, taking a yoga class or doing an exercise video. Take note of what activities each of you enjoy most so you can keep doing them. Go To The Park Take advantage of your local parks and plan an outing to get some exercise in the great outdoors! Search for bike paths, playgrounds, or hiking trails you can explore. Celebrate! Celebrate how far you’ve come toward upping your fitness game! Keep up the good work! Go further with Parent Connext™ by scheduling a Natural Strength Parent Coaching session today!

This summer doesn’t have to be spent on a screen. These activities from The Character Effect™ build upon your family’s strengths and remind you to practice mindfulness. Download the summer activities here and get started today!

Guest Blogger Stephanie Born, MPA Team Lead, Beyond the Classroom When my son turned 4, his attitude went from loving life and seeing  everything as fun and exciting to answers filled with “no” and constantly found the worst in any situation. They are the kids that are often referred to as “Negative Nancy” or have troubles letting go and just “being a kid”.  Sound like your child? The first step is to recognize that this negative thinking can be the result of many factors in your child’s life.  It can be anxiety, depression, an undiagnosed medical disorder, and even just their personality trait. In some cases, parents realized that they were negative and the child was simply reflecting back what they were used to seeing or hearing- the possibilities are everywhere. The good news is there are ways that you can work with your child and help them leverage their own strengths to see the world in a new light. Positive talking and affirmations can go a long way Help your child rephrase their negative thoughts by affirming the positive ones.  If your child says something like  “I am going to do terrible on my sight word quiz today”, instead say out loud and ask them to repeat after you  “I am going to do GREAT on my sight word quick today!”.  By restating negative comments as positives, your child’s brain will find motivation and boost your child’s confidence. This is a great technique to introduce and work on as a family! Appreciate the process, not the result My child often deals with all or nothing- and will often lean towards the nothing.  Instead of focusing on the results of any situation- the failing of his sight word quiz, talk about the process of even getting to the sight word quiz. For example, your child says “ I am going to fail on my sight word quiz today”,  refocus their energy away from passing or failing to the process of learning the sight words.  You can say  something like “ you worked really hard on learning the words” or “ remember yesterday when you knew two of the words and now you know 5?”.  This allows your child to take the stress off of the results and not go in thinking the worst is bound to happen and instead realize the positive steps forward they were able to take. Ask Powerful Questions Instead of asking your child “how was school?”, start your conversation with asking “tell me one positive thing about your day”.   It may be as small as a smile or as big as getting an award- all wins are still wins. Allow your child to be creative in finding good or positive things about his or her day. When your child comes up with something, validate their win.  Eventually you may be able to get multiple wins or even be able to ask a blanket question such as “how was your day” and get the positive response you want. Ask for Help One of the best resources for my family was reaching out for behavioral support from my son’s school based counseling team. By working with professionals in the school- they were able to help me find positive things about my son’s day to ask him about or would let me know if there were areas that he was especially thriving in that I could highlight. They also work closely with his teachers and are able to remind them to give him affirmations when they see him doing things well that can help with his confidence. They are also able to provide you with evidence based approaches to help change the mindset of your child. Many children who lean towards being negative are often very curious and a deep sense of prudence.  It may feel like your child is unhappy, but rest assured,  this is often not the case. It is as simple as finding out the cause and working with them to change a mindset!  

Over his remarkable 42-year career at Beech Acres Parenting Center, James R. Mason has led our 172-year-old organization through an incredible evolution of purpose and programs focused on strengthening families so children could achieve their unique potential. Anticipating modern society’s complex and rapid changes, Jim has purposefully led the former General Protestant Orphan Home through its evolution from a 19th- century orphanage to the 21st-century parenting center it is today. Jim’s singular vision led to helping thousands of parents meet the challenges of raising children today AND the creation, development, and implementation of Natural Strength Parenting™, our unique approach to parenting, upon which all of our family-focused programs are based. Jim joined Beech Acres as Assistant Director, Child Care in 1978. At that time, Jim was responsible for the planning and administration of daily operations in what was then a residential treatment center. In this scenario, Jim looked, as he always has, at the adults in a child’s life, the caretakers at Beech Acres, and how they could positively impact a child’s growth and development. To develop these caretakers to provide the best possible care for the children living here, Jim developed and implemented Beech Acres’ Training Program shortly after his arrival and became Director, Training in 1980. As divorce rates soared in the 1980s, the profound impact of the changing structure of the family unit dominated headlines. Jim sensed the changing needs of parents, families, and kids in the community and provided inspired leadership in founding The Aring Institute, which offered essential services to divorcing and remarried families and their children. Under Jim’s leadership as Director, The Aring Institute grew to a staff of 12, serving over 5,000 children, families, and professionals. By 1986, The Aring Institute was recognized as one of the country’s most comprehensive service centers for children and families experiencing the stress of divorce and remarriage. In the late 1980s, Jim’s uncanny ability to anticipate the ever-changing needs of parents, families, and kids led him to advocate fiercely among Beech Acres’ staff and the Board of Directors about the benefits of creating preventive services for families. Jim believed that prevention rather than reaction was the best way to build stronger families. This belief and this advocacy became the first seeds of Intentional, Strength-based, Mindful Practice, which would eventually grow into Natural Strength Parenting™. As a result of Jim’s vision of the future, changes in the community around social services, and a new approach to fundraising, Beech Acres held its final Orphan Feast in 1986, ending a 137-year fundraising tradition in the community. This signaled the biggest evolution in the organization’s history, as we transitioned from serving kids on-site to serving the wider community through a range of ever-evolving services designed to meet the needs of modern parents. By 1989 Beech Acres shuttered its final residential cottage and James R. Mason was named President & CEO. During the 1990s, Jim’s leadership as President & CEO grew Beech Acres’ reputation in the community by establishing partnerships and creating coalitions designed to support families in the community. These included: • The Emergency Therapeutic Foster Care program, which provided a safe, short-term environment for children to heal from an immediate crisis • Care Management, a component of Hamilton County’s new managed care initiative with Family & Children First Management, Inc. • Creative Connections, a collaboration with Lighthouse Youth Services to manage the care of the most troubled children in the county By 1998 Jim Mason’s Beech Acres had become a driving force in preventive and restorative services for families in the community. Jim provided collaborative leadership that led to the co-creation of Every Child Succeeds® with Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Community Action Agency, and the United Way. The following year saw the debut of For the Love of Kids®, a Beech Acres Conference for Practical Parenting. In 2001 Beech Acres was reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services (COA), having met the highest national standards and delivered the best quality services to the Greater Cincinnati area under Jim Mason’s leadership. The 2000’s saw further partnership development, evolution, transition and recognition for Beech Acres, including: • Receiving the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics • Establishment of MyParentSource.com to provide parents with one-on-one help from professional parent coaches • Expansion of mental health services into the westside at our new Glenmore location and into Warren and Clinton Counties • Creation of Parent Education Program (PEP) with Hamilton County Job and Family Services • Establishing our first school-based mental health services, a precursor to Beyond the ClassroomTM In 2010 to better reflect Jim Mason’s belief that the best way to serve children is through their parents, the organization changed its name to Beech Acres Parenting Center. In 2017, after decades of test and learn, Jim’s vision of parenting became embedded in Beech Acres’ DNA and all program areas with the establishment of Natural Strength Parenting™. Natural Strength Parenting™ encourages parents to be intentional in their approach to parenting, to be mindful and “in the moment” when spending time with their children, and to identify and cultivate their children’s unique strengths in order to unlock their potential, build resiliency and become capable, caring, and contributing citizens. In 2019, Jim navigated the organization through a major reorganization which saw Beech Acres move from 18 to 8 programs. This reorganization shifted the focus of the organization to meet parents and children where they were; in schools, pediatric offices, and the community. With this streamlined service delivery, Beech Acres is achieving greater impact on the lives of parents and children, which has led to solid investments in schools, pediatric practices, and child welfare. The highly committed and talented team of Beech Acres staff now makes a positive impact on more than 14,000 children, caregivers, teachers, health care providers and children in Southwest Ohio each year. For 8 years running, Beech Acres has been selected by The Cincinnati Enquirer as one of Cincinnati’s Top Places to Work, including a 2020 #1 ranking in the Meaningful Work category. Jim has also worked with other community leaders to create numerous local, state,

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.