The Hamilton County Department of Education and the National Center for Youth Issues (NCYI), a Chattanooga-based, youth development group, will co-host the eighth anniversary Healthy Choices for Youth Chattanooga Summit at Christ United Methodist Church in East Brainerd on Friday, from 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Julia Cook, an award-winning children’s storybook author from Omaha, Ne., will be the headline speaker at the event. With humble roots as a former school counselor and classroom teacher in a small town outside Omaha, she has now written more than 55 children’s storybooks that have propelled her to national prominence as an author, now finding herself in the top 10% of storybook sales on Amazon. Her books tackle tough social, emotional and physical issues that children and families face in the childrearing years, but are written though the eyes of child, one of Julia’s specialties.
Joining Ms. Cook are two other outstanding trainers, Eric Chancy from Raleigh, N.C., and Amie Dean from Atlanta. Mr. Chancy will lead a session title “How to Ruin Your Life On-line,” which will address the issues facing children and families in the digital age. Ms. Dean, in her session titled “Behavior Interventions That Work,” will offer insights on addressing problem behaviors in the classroom setting.
The Summit will provide quality professional development training for 150 school counselors, social workers and other student support professionals in 95 Hamilton County public and private schools. 15 local youth agencies and sponsors will also have exhibits at the event to share the programs and services they have to offer this vital group of professionals.
In addition to training, participating schools will be given $250 in resources to supplement their programs.
Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union is the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the event. It joins the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation and Hamico, Inc. as major foundation supporters. The Hamilton County Department of Education is also contributing funds through their Character Education Initiative and Race to the Top. Several other outstanding corporations and individuals have joined numerous local private donors to provide the training and resources for schools.