| Learning Opportunities
Students In the
MiddleŽ
is a school-based program providing support groups for students who have
experienced family transitions including divorce, separation, and
remarriage.
The Students In the MiddleŽ program
includes:
- Comprehensive training to enhance
school counselor’s and social worker’s knowledge and skills in the areas
of divorce, separation, and stepparenting
- An easy-to-use curriculum manual that
includes all materials needed to facilitate weekly support groups
- Age-specific activities for students
in preschool through high school, including games, discussion and role
play topics, and art and writing activities
- Ongoing consultation with Kids In the
MiddleŽ and University of Missouri Extension
- Access to an e-mail list for
discussion issues with other counselors who have used the Students In
the Middle program
- Access to electronic permission forms
and parent letters that can be modified to meet your needs
- Training includes a continental
breakfast and lunch
What participants have said about
Students In the MiddleŽ
“[The students in the group] demonstrated coping strategies they had
learned in addition to anger control and a few other key issues that they
also picked up. I was overwhelmed. It is a great program and it helped my
students.”
- — Judy Trost, Counselor, Louisana Middle School
“Children say they like coming to group
and hate missing it when they’re not in school. One parent said it had
made a noticeable
impact on his son.”
-— Angie Spatola, Social Worker, Webster Groves Early Childhood
Education Center
“I love the idea of this . . . as a
parent, I enjoyed the weekly articles for ideas and reassurance for my
role in this.”
-— Parent
Program Goals
Students who participate in the support
groups will be better able to:
- Acknowledge and define divorce or
separation
- Identify and express their feelings
- Understand and use healthy coping
skills
- Enhance their self-esteem
- Accept the changes in their families
Student comments:
“I’m not afraid to talk about my
feelings.”
“When I feel like nobody loves me, I
hug someone who does (pets and family).”
“It helps me know how to handle my
feelings.”
Students In the MiddleŽ is a
collaboration between Kids In the MiddleŽ and University of Missouri
Extension
Kids In the MiddleŽ strengthens family
relationships by providing quality and affordable therapy, education and
support to children and families coping with divorce and other
transitions. They are recognized in the greater St. Louis metropolitan
area as the foremost authority on the subjects of divorce and family
transitions and their impact on children.
Children are able to share their thoughts
and feelings in a group setting with other kids going through similar
family changes. They learn to understand the changes in their families and
express themselves through artwork and verbal communication.
University of Missouri Extension provides
research-based information for families experiencing family transitions,
including the Focus on Kids program for divorcing parents, the Step by
Step program for stepfamilies, the Families and Divorce program for
teachers and childcare providers who want to learn more about supporting
children whose parents are separating, and the
MissouriFamilies website.
For more information, please contact:
Kids In the Middle coordinator
121 W. Monroe Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63122
314-909-9922
www.kidsinthemiddle.org
Students In the Middle coordinator
Human Development and Family
Studies (HDFS)
University of Missouri Extension
314 Gentry Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
573-882-4035
http://missourifamilies.org/learningopps/learndivorce
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