September 21, 2005


PAMF Partners with San Carlos School District to Present Parent Education Workshops

“Back to School: Strengthening Healthy Families” Among the Topics to be Presented


The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) is partnering with the San Carlos School District (SCSD) and the San Carlos Educational Foundation (SCEF) to present a series of six free parent education workshops at the Central Middle School Library in San Carlos. The workshops, which will include a variety of parenting topics from “A Recipe for Healthy Eating” to “Talking to Your Kids About Sex,” are open to the entire San Carlos community.

“We are thrilled to offer San Carlos families the opportunity to learn new parenting skills that will enable them to raise healthier, happier children,” said David Druker, M.D., PAMF president and CEO. “We have collaborated with other school districts in the communities we serve to offer health-related programs for children and we look forward to contributing to the health and well-being of San Carlos families.”

“The parent education program, which the Palo Alto Medical Foundation has generously helped to coordinate and fund, will complement the work our teachers currently do,” said Patty Wool, Ed.D., SCSD superintendent. “After all, we all realize how important it is that schools and families work together to provide the best environment for each child to grow and learn.”

Speakers will include licensed clinical social workers, registered dietitians, researchers and physicians from PAMF and Parents Place, a local organization that specializes in parent education.

Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet, LCSW, a parent educator with Parents Place, will present the first workshop on Wednesday, October 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. “Back to School: Strengthening Healthy Families” will discuss some of the unique challenges parents face as they raise children in today’s world and inform parents about establishing healthy schedules and finding the right balance in their own family, building positive homework habits that will help students throughout their educational careers and ways to make families stronger.

Moskowitz-Sweet is also a part-time professor of social work at San Jose State University and has been teaching graduate students for 18 years. She was the co-coordinator of the Friendship Program with Judy Durkac, Ed.D, at White Oaks and Brittan Acres Elementary Schools in San Carlos from 1995 to 2002. She currently works with the counselors at both elementary schools. Moskowitz-Sweet specializes in issues of school-age and adolescent children. She and her husband, Andy Sweet, have lived in San Carlos for more than 20 years and have two sons in high school and one son in college.

“These days parents are struggling with numerous commitments,” said Moskowitz-Sweet. “Children have a variety of after-school activities available to them and parents have their own professional and personal obligations. On top of that, there is a growing amount of homework that has to get done. These all contribute to the need for a healthy balance for the entire family,” she added.

“We’ll discuss how to achieve that balance, as well as strategies all parents can use to strengthen their families.”

Future parent education workshops will feature a variety of topics ranging from healthy eating to discipline and communication. See the complete schedule listed below.

Schedule of Upcoming Workshops

The December Dilemma: A Look at Seasonal Stress, Materialism and Family Traditions

  • Speaker: Jomary Hilliard, Ph.D., Parents Place
  • Wednesday, November 9


A Recipe for Healthy Eating
  • Speaker: Karen Astrachan, R.D., CDE, PAMF Department of Nutrition Services
  • Wednesday, January 11


Parents, Peers Popularity, Power: Navigating Children’s Friendships
  • Speaker: Sheila Dubin, M.S., Parents Place
  • Wednesday, February 8


Setting Boundaries and Making Choices: Communication and Discipline
  • Speakers: Karen Friedland-Brown, M.A., Parents Place
    • Presenting to parents of elementary school students

    Sheila Dubin, M.S., Parents Place
    • Presenting to parents of middle school students

  • Wednesday, March 8


Talking With Your Kids About Sex
  • Speakers: Nancy Brown, Ph.D., PAMF Research Institute
  • Naveen Mahmood, M.D., MPH, PAMF Redwood Shores Health Center
  • Wednesday, April 5


All presentations will be held at the Central Middle School Library located at 828 Chestnut Street. The complete schedule of parent education workshops is also available online at www.pamf.org/preteen/parents/scsdclasses.html.


The Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education is a not-for-profit health care organization that is a pioneer in both multispecialty group practice of medicine and outpatient medicine. The foundation has three health care divisions: the Palo Alto Division, the Camino Division and the Santa Cruz Division. The Palo Alto Division, staffed by 290 physicians of the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, has provided a full range of care for Peninsula residents since it was founded in 1930. It operates clinics in Fremont, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City and Redwood Shores. PAMF is part of the Sutter Health family of not-for-profit hospitals and physician organizations that share resources and expertise to advance health care quality. Serving more than 100 communities in Northern California, Sutter Health is a regional leader in cardiac care as well as care of women and children, and is a pioneer in advanced patient safety technology. For more information, visit www.pamf.org.