Pasadena ISD’s Guidance Center is holding its monthly parent meeting Sept. 27 from 2-3 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria.

The school’s parent meetings focus primarily on improving the lives of its students as well as educate parents about how to help their students with health and social issues and provide them with resources to do so. This month’s guest speaker is the Pasadena ISD Police Department’s Sgt. Mario Saldivar, who will present a gang awareness program.

“Most parents don’t want their students in gangs and would do something to stop them if they knew what to do,” said the school’s high school counselor Rose Rankin. “But the problem is parents don’t always know what to look for or what to do if they see the danger signs. We want to empower our parents, so they can identify a gang member and give them the knowledge to fight this problem.”

In the gang awareness program, Saldivar will enlighten parents on how to identify signs of a student being involved with a gang including gang graffiti, hand signs, colors, clothing, behavior and more. The program is free of charge and open to the public.

“Today’s students and parents are facing very tough situations in our society,” Rankin said. “As we fight to keep our children safe, the parents ultimately shoulder the greatest responsibility. If students are taught to make good decisions and use problem-solving techniques, and if parents openly talk with their children about critical topics, then students will likely have better behavior and academic performance at school. As the school and parents work together, we can improve the life-experiences of our students.”

Next month’s meeting will be held Oct. 25 from 2-3 p.m. and the topic will be drug awareness. For additional information, please contact the school at 713-740-4108.