SEMINAR FOR PARENTS OF TEENS OFFERED

ROCKFORD -- Making parents aware of teenage issues is the focus of a series
of seminars at Rockford schools. The first discussion is at 7 p.m. Tuesday
in the Freshman Center, 4500 Kroes Road NE.

Anne King, education and prevention specialist at Grand Rapids Public
Schools, will speak on the "Cycles of Childhood." The free seminar will
address how parents of middle- and high-school students can guide their
children through such challenges as drug and alcohol abuse.

Rockford this year has expelled three students for drug use, said Michael
Micele, assistant superintendent for instruction.

Micele envisions an ongoing education program for parents of middle-school
students, to coincide with the expansion of Drug Abuse Resistance
Education, or D.A.R.E., to the middle-school level. The district plans more
lectures for next year.

"We want to begin to make this part of giving parents a heads-up on high
school life in general," Micele said.