Over 3500 people gathered together during the Institute for Educational Leadership Conference in early June for the National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference (CSxFE). Educators and family supporters met from around the country and across the pond in Los Angeles to discuss the development and sustainability of community schools, supporting parents, and students alike. One of the breakout sessions was a featured panel on Parent Nation…

I have been really disturbed by recent events to the point of hopeless confusion verging on paralysis. I rarely go on social media and my news-following is seriously limited, but still, stuff creeps in. The consensus, no matter which side of political and ethical issues you’re on, seems to be that the forces of evil are winning. So what to do when the darkness seems to be consistently overwhelming the light? Remember Einstein saying: “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” We need to transcend.

Illinois YAB was created by statute to give youth ages 14-21 in the care of IDCFS the opportunity to provide feedback on service delivery, programs, and policies that affect them, toward ensuring that all youth are optimally cared for and supported regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, language, handicap/disability, or religion. Illinois YAB is committed to youth empowerment, development, leadership, and achievement.

What is safety? What is security? How do we take care of ourselves in order to take care of our families?

On November 30, 2020, as part of Be Strong Families daily webinar series Staying Strong and Positive for Ourselves and Our Children, Be Strong Families President and CEO Katthe Wolf interviewed Tecoria Jones about radical family engagement. What works to engage families? What are the barriers? What would radical family engagement look and feel like to parents and agencies? Where is it happening now?

The biennial Together for Families Conference was held from October 14-16 of 2020, and was a phenomenal success with more than 400 registrants attending—well over the initial expectation of 350. We saw three days of plenaries, presentations, and discussions around supporting families’ advancement, and Be Strong Families was thrilled to cohost this virtual event and organize the Advancing Equity track, which convened conversations through interactive workshops that promoted racial awareness, diversity, equity, and inclusion in partnerships to strengthen families and enhance communities.

In a research publication on the National Institute of Health’s website called, The Connection Between Art, Healing and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature written by Heather L Stuckey, DEd and Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH stated, "through creativity and imagination, we find our identity and our reservoir of healing. The more we understand the relationship between creative expression and healing, the more we will discover the healing power of the arts.” As a poet and lover of all forms of artistic expression, I can attest to the power of creativity to build resilience and bolster inner will, even in the most tragic and emotionally challenging situations. It has been in my darkest moments—the accidental death of my brother, one my closet friends being shot five times, the death of one my favorite aunts, the pain of the loss or watching someone I love suffer—that I have created my best artistic work.

The Be Strong Families Board of Directors met on July 20, 2020 to review FY 2020 and to chart the path for FY 2021. The board considered how we would work to advance our strategic plan, especially with regard to anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion and to creating a more just world, one in which individuals’ self-actualization is linked with community and social transformation (thanks to Ahmad Abojaradeh and LifeinMyDays.com for this cognitive frame).

In the middle of a pandemic, a political firestorm, and a national reckoning on race, we turn to art. Here's the research behind why creating art — at any skill level — can meaningfully reduce stress and restore wellbeing for the whole family.