The Northville Educational Foundation and Northville Public Schools are partnering to host the Eighth Annual Northville Parent Camp. The event will take place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 4 at Northville High School.
This is a “a one-stop shop” for parents wanting to add more tools to their toolbox, organizers said.
“Parent Camp is an opportunity that was designed many years ago that allows parents the opportunity to receive free resources, training, and support from local and national vendors,” explained Aaron Baughman, assistant superintendent of instructional services at Northville Public Schools.
Northville Public Schools in partnership with Northville Educational Foundation is offering a free conference to any parent in the area.
“I would just encourage parents to think about Parent Camp and attending because as a parent myself of students here in this district, or just a parent in general, this is an opportunity like no other where you have some of the most highly qualified and talented professionals from across the state and sometimes even the country who have information and resources and answers to some of the most difficult parenting things that we face,” said Baughman.
There will be three breakout sessions that will last about an hour each and parents will be to select from about 35 different topics.
“It's really just a general kind of widespread offering to parents, everything from college planning for their kids to academic support to mental health and wellbeing, parenting support, and everything in between that you can imagine,” said Baughman.
One of the presenting speakers will include former Lions quarterback Eric Hipple. He and his daughter, Tarah Hipple-Thomas, will talk about their journey as they navigated. through a traumatic event within their family.
They will discuss how they survived the fallout of the tragic loss of a beloved family member to suicide and their treatment and recovery from the adversity that followed. Utilizing mental health tools, they evolved into the mental health advocates they are today.
Hipple will discuss the personal challenges from a father's perspective (including the transition from being a professional athlete) and Hipple-Thomas will discuss her challenges from a sibling’s perspective.
New this year will be a Mental Health and Wellness Resource Fair which anyone can attend. Parents will be able to walk around and explore more than 50 vendors.
“Those resources are going to range from mental health services, so we might have a table from Trinity Health and IHA, Everybody versus Stigma, different counseling centers for our parents to visit,
“We'll also have wellness type tables that will include Alliance of Therapy Dogs. And we'll also have resources that are specific to families that have children that have special education services like Michigan Alliance for Families or SEPAC,” explained Beth Santer, executive director of special services at Northville Public Schools.
The workshops and event are free and sponsored by Michigan Educational Credit Union.
The full list of breakout sessions can be found on the 2023 Parent Camp & Mental Health and Wellness Fair website.
