Summit planned to educate, inspire parents

A community-wide parent summit, Parent University, intended to help parents be better prepared for the challenges facing their children, will be Saturday at Seeliger Elementary School.

"With Parent University we are striving to bring parents together and inform, educate and inspire them," said Erinn Davis, parent-teacher association board president and mother of three, in a press release. "We believe that together we can improve our community for both children and their families."

Sponsored by the Carson School System, Ron Wood Center, Carson City Sheriffs Department and Seeliger PTO, this day-long conference will provide attendees information and tools to help meet the challenges of raising children in the 21st century.

Speakers will include child advocate and educational innovator Ian Hill, who has been named Humanitarian of the Year four times in the State of Nevada, and Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes.

Miss Nevada Juliana Erdesz will act as the emcee for the day.

The conference will also include breakout seasons with experts in various fields including attention-deficit disorder, Internet safety, discipline strategies, academic successes and managing household budgets in difficult economic times, as well as other relevant topics.

Lunch time will be dedicated to a town-hall-like conversation with a panel of law enforcement experts, titled Cheese and Strawberry Quik " referring to slang names for drugs targeted at children.

The panel will inform parents how they can protect their children from drugs designed for school-aged kids and gangs that begin recruiting as early as third and fourth grade.

The cost is $15 and includes all sessions, a workbook, breakfast, lunch and child care for the day. So far, about 100 parents have signed up.