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SPARK to host discussion on STDs
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
The Students and Parents Against Risks to Kids (SPARK) organization will address sexually transmitted diseases at its next meeting.
The meeting runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 7 at Carroll High School, 800 N. White Chapel Road.
“One of our goals is to have the students give input on what they want to talk about,” said Laura Hill, co-chairwoman for SPARK. “A group of girls have gone to their school counselors and told them that they want to talk about STDs.”
The meeting will feature a discussion led by Dr. Jason Terk of Cook Children’s Medical Center.
“It’s going to be a common-sense conversation with parents and high school-aged children,” Hill said, adding that the meeting will be informative but not graphic. “If parents want to know more about this, this will be a comfortable place for them to come to.”
Hill said there is a need for this type of conversation.
“There is a lack of knowledge out there,” Hill said. “Teens have friends with problems, and they don’t know how to talk to their parents. The counselors called us because SPARK has a huge resource outreach.”
Suzanne Maisto, co-chairwoman for SPARK, said the organization has touched on sensitive topics in the past, including date rape and “sexting.”
“Children are becoming more aware of the dangers that are out there,” Maisto said. “A lot of the information they get in school can’t go in depth enough, so I’m glad these students went to their guidance counselors to find out more about this instead of getting inaccurate information from somewhere else.”
The meeting is for parents and children in the ninth through 12th grades only.
Go to www.sparknow.org or contact Hill at lhill@downeypublishing.com or 817-797-0782 for information.
SPARK members include parents, teens, business leaders, school officials, church leaders, drug and alcohol counselors and more.
The meeting runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 7 at Carroll High School, 800 N. White Chapel Road.
“One of our goals is to have the students give input on what they want to talk about,” said Laura Hill, co-chairwoman for SPARK. “A group of girls have gone to their school counselors and told them that they want to talk about STDs.”
The meeting will feature a discussion led by Dr. Jason Terk of Cook Children’s Medical Center.
“It’s going to be a common-sense conversation with parents and high school-aged children,” Hill said, adding that the meeting will be informative but not graphic. “If parents want to know more about this, this will be a comfortable place for them to come to.”
Hill said there is a need for this type of conversation.
“There is a lack of knowledge out there,” Hill said. “Teens have friends with problems, and they don’t know how to talk to their parents. The counselors called us because SPARK has a huge resource outreach.”
Suzanne Maisto, co-chairwoman for SPARK, said the organization has touched on sensitive topics in the past, including date rape and “sexting.”
“Children are becoming more aware of the dangers that are out there,” Maisto said. “A lot of the information they get in school can’t go in depth enough, so I’m glad these students went to their guidance counselors to find out more about this instead of getting inaccurate information from somewhere else.”
The meeting is for parents and children in the ninth through 12th grades only.
Go to www.sparknow.org or contact Hill at lhill@downeypublishing.com or 817-797-0782 for information.
SPARK members include parents, teens, business leaders, school officials, church leaders, drug and alcohol counselors and more.
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