In My Chrysalis Era 🦋
Understanding ADHD and Autism: Strategies that Work! (Elementary School)
Monday, June 15, 2026 | 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Online
Free | DCYF Grantees
Unlock practical, classroom-ready strategies to support neurodivergent learners in the elementary years. This workshop moves beyond theory to provide a "toolbox" for educators and staff working with students with ADHD and Autism. We focus on strengths-based approaches that reduce frustration and foster engagement.
What You’ll Learn
The Neurodivergent Brain: Simple insights into executive function and sensory processing.
Predictable Environments: How to use visual schedules and clear transitions to lower anxiety.
Engagement Strategies: Creative ways to harness high-interest topics and movement to keep students on track.
Positive Support: Practical tools for replacing "compliance-based" discipline with proactive, skill-building support.
Understanding ADHD and Autism: Strategies that Work! (Middle and High School)
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 | 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Online
Free | DCYF Grantees
Get practical, classroom-ready strategies to support neurodivergent middle and high schoolers. This workshop moves beyond theory to give educators a real-world "toolbox" for supporting students with ADHD and Autism. We focus on strengths-based approaches that reduce frustration, boost engagement, and respect growing independence.
Mindful Technology—Weaning off Screens and Connecting as a Family
Wednesday, June 17
1:00 – 2:00pm (PDT) | Online
Join us for this interactive workshop to gain new strategies and helpful resources for managing screen time at home. We'll discuss how you can make informed choices about technology's role in your family and help by setting the example yourself!
Fee: $30
This workshop will not be recorded. Registration closes 30 minutes before the event, and access details will be emailed at that time.
the heart of the matter
Hi Fam!
This will be my last newsletter for a few months. Last summer, I started a tradition of pressing pause on many of the “official” parts of work so I could make more space for rest, joy, creativity, and big-picture thinking. I’m doing it again this year.
That doesn’t mean it will be a lazy summer (although that sounds lovely). We at The Village Well have some big plans.
We are focusing our work even more. We’ve recognized a huge need: afterschool and summer programs are serving increasing numbers of kids with disabilities, trauma, and mental health challenges, while staff often receive very little training in how to support them successfully.
I’ve spent 25 years working in youth development and expanded learning programs. It feels like a natural evolution to bring my newer passion and expertise in disability inclusion and behavior support into a field I already know and love.
Our big, audacious goal is this:
Within the next two years, we aim to become one of the leading organizations helping afterschool and summer programs support kids with disabilities and big behaviors. We want programs where kids feel safe, included, connected, and successful, and where staff have practical tools that reduce behavior struggles and create calmer, more joyful environments for everyone.
This summer, we'll be working on our communications and branding, including a new website and messaging about who we serve and why this work matters. I’ll also be connecting with leaders across the expanded learning field to better understand their biggest pain points, unmet needs, and hopes for their programs.
I’m building a scale plan for The Village Well. Right now, our work revolves around me. If we truly want to support programs across the nation, we need a new organization structure that can take this work far without losing the heart of it. I’ll be talking to smart people who have built mission-driven organizations, expanded small businesses, and navigated sustainable growth. If someone comes to mind, please introduce me!
I’m writing a book focused on supporting productive behavior in classrooms and beyond. It blends neuroscience, disability inclusion, cultural wisdom, and practical strategies into something accessible and deeply useful for parents, educators, and youth workers. My motivator: I have to write for an hour before I watch any World Cup games that day!
And of course, I’ll be focusing on my family.
I told my younger kids that he needs to commit to learning a skill and practicing it every day. He picked two: basketball dribbling moves and cooking. I’ll provide enthusiastic support as both a clueless basketball defender (not an act) and sous chef.
My older son has been doing really well in boarding school. He’s been doing the hard work of healing, and I’m incredibly proud of him. He’ll be home for a couple visits and for a family vacation in my favorite place in California: The Lodge at Blue Lakes (see “we’re obsessed with” below).
I’m thinking of summer as my chrysalis era. I’m going to be quiet and low profile, while doing some reinvention work. I’m excited to meet me and The Village Well on the other side.
So this is a see you next fall message. And also an expression of gratitude for a great year. Thank you for attending workshops, sharing our work, referring friends and colleagues, hiring us, offering feedback, asking hard questions, and trusting me with your stories. Thank you to the parents who have cried on Zoom calls, the educators who stayed late to problem-solve difficult situations, the youth workers doing impossible jobs with enormous heart, and the colleagues who believed in the vision even as it evolves.
Building something meaningful is deeply vulnerable work. Every kind email, honest conversation, recommendation, introduction, and word-of-mouth referral has mattered more than you probably realize. You have helped shape The Village Well into what it is becoming.
I’m deeply grateful you’re on the journey with me.
Be Well!
Ed
my regular rant against screen time
Screen time shouldn't be a source of parent guilt or household arguments.
This new guide from Fairplay helps you move past the "screen time battle" and create a plan that actually works for your family.
What’s inside:
The Research: Simple facts on how screens affect development.
The Strategy: How to use the "Fair Play" method to divide the mental load of managing tech.
The Action: Letter templates and checklists to help you set boundaries at home and at school.
👉 check out "When Screens Take Over" here
A reminder - while screen use naturally increases in the summer months, make sure to insist your kids touch grass every day. You should too! If possible, schedule one screen free vacation!
we’re obsessed with
This comedy bit from Marcello Hernandez had me rolling. Disclaimer: I don’t want to make light of depression or pretend it’s an optional condition. But I can hear my own mother’s voice in this bit. And what parent doesn’t relate to the “dropping off and picking up and dropping off and picking up…”
The Lodge At Blue Lakes I’m almost hesitant to share this place because I love it for its ease and calm. When I was a kid reading books about white kids on summer adventures, this is what I imagined: crystal clear water, rope swings, slow boats and canoes, bass fishing, s’mores, and endless stars. Check it out — but maybe don’t tell too many people.
where we’ve been
We spoke at the 2026 Summer Learning Conference at Fort Mason, joining city leaders to kick off the theme: "In the City, Anything is Possible." We facilitated Teaching Behavior Skills in Extended Learning Programs workshop. Youth development professionals walked away with practical tools to:
Build Connection: Prioritize relationships to reduce conflict.
Support Inclusion: Use regulation strategies for kids with disabilities.
Teach Skills: Explicitly model the behaviors they want to see.
Book a workshop for your school or organization
Bring The Village Well to your school or organization. We provide powerful, interactive and fun workshops for parents and/or staff. Learn more
Ed Center, the founder of The Village Well, is a parenting coach and educator certified in the Triple P method. The Village Well is a community of parents in BIPOC families, focused on attaining more joy, calm, and meaning in family life. We coach parents to prioritize their own healing and wellness, deepen connections with their kids, and learn tools to support better behavior. Services include Parenting workshops, Parenting courses, and community events. Our support is culturally-grounded support and honors your unique family. Ready to stop yelling? Schedule a free consultation with one of our team members.
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