Families Flourishing FredMo is a community partnership between MU Extension and the Fredericktown School District aimed at providing families the opportunity to strengthen family connections and increase positive youth development.

“Families Flourishing FredMo is specifically designed to provide the most benefits to families during the transitional period when youth begin their middle school years,” Strengthening Families 10-14 Facilitator Shanna Sorg said. “The program will be available to any family with a sixth grader at Kelly A. Burlison Middle School.”

When asked why families would want to participate Sorg said, “I think the better questions would be, why would they not want to participate.”

Sorg said the program provides the opportunity for families to spend time together in a fun and interactive setting while gaining new resources to successfully navigate the teenage years.

“Families Flourishing FredMo is actually the combination of two independent programs, Botvin LifeSkills Training Lessons, which are delivered to all sixth grade students during their enrichment period at school, and Strengthening Families 10-14, a seven, 2-hour session, series,” Sorg said. “Each of the seven sessions will consist of three parts; time for a family meal which will be provided, parent/caregiver session with a separate session for youth, and a family session for parents/caregivers and youth to learn and work together.”

Sorg said the sessions are not parenting lessons. They are, however, based on parenting concepts.

“Each session is an opportunity for parents/caregivers to increase their capacity to provide a protective parenting environment for their teenager,” Sorg said. “The highly interactive parent/caregiver sessions allow parents to expand the parenting toolbox on topics such as setting limits and house rules, using consequences and encouraging good behavior.”

Sorg said the youth sessions will focus on teens learning about setting goals for their own future, following rules, parent appreciation, understanding how to resist peer-pressure and dealing with stress. She said the sessions are designed for ample time to be spent practicing skills through role playing and self-expression.

“As a parent of two young adults and a 16-year-old son, I found myself thinking several times during the Strengthening Families 10-14 training that I wished this program had been available in our area when my children transitioned into their teenage years,” Sorg said. “The practical application of the ideas and concepts could have benefited our family.”

Sorg said, while the separate parent/caregiver and youth sessions are excellent in their own areas, it is the time where families work together to expand their problem solving abilities or enhance their communication skills that she finds most exciting about the program.

“What parent of a young teen doesn’t want to be able to more effectively address problems and improve communication within their family,” Sorg said.

The sessions are administered by local Strengthening Families 10-14 facilitators. A certification class was held at the Madison County MU Extension office a few weeks ago where ten local team members stepped up to become certified in the PROSPER model.

“PROSPER stands for PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience,” Sorg said. “This delivery system links university-based prevention researchers with two established program delivery systems within a state, the Cooperative Extension system at the Land Grant University (MU Extension) and the public school system.”

Sorg said Strengthening Families 10-14 and Botvin LifeSkills Training are programs included in the PROSPER delivery model.

“The PROSPER delivery model is built locally by the partnership but is also very reliant on community partnerships,” Sorg said. “At this time our only community partner is the Madison County Opioid Task Force which has provided the connection with SEMO Prevention Resources Center who provided the funding for the Botvin LifeSkills Training curriculum for sixth graders as well as the other two grades at the middle school and three grades at the intermediate school and has also been able to provide $950 for the Galaxia online game that accompanies the LifeSkills Training lessons.”

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