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An Hour of Good

Grow alongside your child through the Parent Education Series, a partnership between Community & Belonging and our parents' organization.

Throughout the year, special speakers provide practical insights and resources on timely parenting topics while strengthening connections within the Good Shepherd community. All programs are free and open to GSES parents.

Why 60 Minutes?

Educational sessions are intentionally planned for one hour—long enough to dive into meaningful content, ask questions, and learn practical strategies, but short enough to fit into busy family schedules. In this focused time, participants can leave with actionable insights, a deeper understanding of the topic, and resources to continue learning.

Our Parent Education Series builds community and offers practical ways for families to support their children’s growth and well-being.

2026-27 Programming

This year we're pleased to offer complimentary access to the 2026–27 ISACS Parent Education Series, a collection of six engaging webinars designed specifically for independent school families. Led by nationally recognized experts, topics including executive function, resilience and well-being, screen-life balance, digital safety, temperament, and the powerful role parents play in shaping their children’s lives. 

Additional dates and topics may be announced.

Current parents can register through the GSES Parent Portal.

School Readiness: Executive Function Needed to "Do School"

with Sarah Ward, Executive Function Expert

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026
6:30-7:30 p.m. 

As school begins, we focus on giving students the right tools—planners, folders, schedules, and routines—to set them up for success. What if these tools aren’t the starting point? What if they depend on executive function skills that many students are still developing? We will shift from tools to the underlying skills students need to successfully “do school.” Gain a deeper understanding of executive function skills—such as working memory, time awareness, task initiation, and organization—and why challenges in these areas can make even the best systems fall apart. Explore how everyday school demands—getting out the door with materials, recording and completing homework, managing time across the day, and following through independently—require more than reminders and checklists. Learn strategies to help start the school year strong.

📌 Content is particularly useful to those with children in grades 3-12. 

The Power of Beliefs: How Strengthening Seven Core Beliefs Predicts Greater Success & A Better Life

with Shawn Achor, Author

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026
6:30-7:30 p.m. 

A great predictor of future educational performance is the beliefs a student holds about the world. Beliefs change the math about what is possible and probable, whether it’s making a team or getting accepted to a great school or thriving with ADHD. By changing the math, beliefs change our path. Parents can actively shape those beliefs in ways that measurably increase student resilience, happiness, and long-term success, and Achor will reveal the seven core beliefs that predict educational outcomes and well-being. Gain practical tools to help kids strengthen the most predictive core beliefs like “I am not alone,” “My behavior matters,” “I have something to give” and “I matter” and leave with strategies that can rewire how their children see themselves and their world. Learn how to improve your child’s emotional immune system, especially in the midst of social media and technology. Beliefs about ourselves, our children, our work and our world don’t just reflect reality. Beliefs bend our future reality. Same world. Different beliefs. Different outcomes.

📌 Content is useful for all parents and caregivers. 

The Family Guide to Screen/Life Balance: What to Do About Tech & Kids

with Catherine Price, Author, Founder of Screen/Life Balance®

Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2027
6:30-7:30 p.m. 

For many parents and educators, fights over screen time seem like an inevitable part of raising kids. But what if it didn’t have to be this way? What if it were possible to transform these conflicts into conversations, and work on better screen habits with our children and students, instead of engaging in endless battles against them? Drawing from a decade’s worth of work—as well as her bestselling books How to Break Up With Your Phone, The Power of Fun, and The Amazing Generation (co-authored with Jonathan Haidt)—Price will reveal why it’s essential to rethink our approach to kids and screens, and will offer a fresh and empowering perspective on how we can talk with our kids instead of at them.  She’ll discuss strategies for how to inspire kids to choose to delay smartphones and social media,  rethink their relationships with devices, create better boundaries with technology, and prioritize real-life friendships, skills, and experiences. She’ll also address newer challenges, including AI and chatbots, and offer ways to help our children—and ourselves—create healthier relationships with technology and build lives full of real friendship, freedom, and fun.

📌 Content is particularly useful to those with children under 13. 

Protecting Your Child in the Age of Deepfakes

with Evan Harris, Expert on AI Risks in Schools

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2027
6:30-7:30 p.m. 

Deepfake technology is no longer a future concern. Students are encountering AI-generated scams, manipulated media, and abuse through the apps, games, and platforms they use every day. Most parents know the term but aren’t sure what it means for their family or what to do about it. Walk through the deepfake landscape in plain language: what these tools can do, where children are most exposed, and what the new federal laws mean for families. Learn how to recognize warning signs that a child may be targeted, how to have age-appropriate conversations about online manipulation, and what steps to take if an incident occurs. Leave with a framework for ongoing conversations with your children, a clear response plan, and the confidence that comes from understanding what they’re dealing with. The single most protective thing a parent can do is make sure their child knows they can come to them without fear of judgment.

📌 Content is particularly useful to those with children grades 4-12. 

How Temperament Shapes Who We Become: Why Some Children Need More Than Others to Flourish

with Aliza Pressman, Developmental Psychologist, Author, Podcaster

Thursday, April 8, 2027
6:30-7:30 p.m. 

What if the traits that make a child more sensitive to stress are the very same traits that allow them to flourish most powerfully in the right environment? Every child is born with a nervous system uniquely wired to experience the world. Some children feel everything deeply, process intensely, and require specific conditions to thrive. Others are more adaptable, flexible, seemingly unfazed. And most fall somewhere in between. Yet, too often, we parent toward an imagined “average child”—one that doesn’t exist. Drawing on research and science around temperament, Pressman offers a clarifying lens: the goal is not to toughen children up or shield them from all stress—but to understand which stress builds resilience, which requires support, and which demands protection. This session challenges two common but costly parenting extremes—dismissing children’s experiences on one end and over-accommodating on the other. Gain a practical, science-backed approach to raising children who feel seen, understood, and capable. Because when children are known for who they truly are, they stop trying to be someone else and start becoming, fully and confidently, themselves.

📌 Content is useful for all parents and caregivers. 

The Power of One

with John O'Leary, Author, Podcaster

Tuesday, May 4, 2027
6:30-7:30 p.m. 

Playing with fire and gasoline at nine years old, O’Leary created a massive explosion in his garage and was burned on 100% of his body. Given less than a 1% chance of survival, O’Leary is proof of the power of the human spirit. His unlikely recovery meant a journey of pain and loss that could have easily been insurmountable. Far from simply enduring tragedy, he became a luminous example of thriving through adversity. And surprisingly, this “survivor” story isn’t focused on O’Leary—rather, it is a celebration of heroes who intimately served him and his family. Every individual involved in this fire teaches us this truth: one person can make a profound difference in the lives of others. Using emotional storytelling and unexpected humor to highlight the powerful role parents and caregivers play in shaping resilience, perspective, and hope in their children; he reminds us of the impact of our daily attitudes, the power of gratitude, and what it looks like to model courage and compassion—reinforcing that even small, intentional moments of connection can leave a lasting imprint on the lives of our kids. Reawaken a sense of purpose—both in parenting and beyond—that what we do everyday matters.

📌 Content is useful to all parents & caregivers. 


Past Events

Online Safety Awareness
An Exclusive Engagement: A Private Keynote with Lynn Lyons
Raising AI-Ready Kids: Practical Strategies for Parenting in the Age of AI
It’s Not Just a Phase—Understanding Child and Teen Grief

Past Topics