In a continued effort to forge strong partnerships between parents and the school, The Miami Valley School, Dayton’s independent Pre-k – 12th grade school, welcomed renowned thought leader Michael Thompson to campus last week, where he met with faculty, parents and students.

Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. is a consultant, author, clinical psychologist and international speaker specializing in children and families. Thompson is the co-author of The New York Times best-selling book, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, which saw significant success leading to a PBS documentary. Throughout his career, Thompson has visited over 2500 schools in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia and has written a total of nine books focusing on the social and emotional development of children. He brought his expertise to The Miami Valley School last week to share it with the MVS community.

“It was an honor to have Dr. Thompson on campus,” said Head of School Elizabeth Cleary, who has focused this year on strengthening the partnership between parents and the school. “We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback from the event, and I am confident his insight will continue to strengthen our community. ”

Thompson spent two days on campus, leading a talk with faculty first on parent-teacher relationships, then speaking in the evening to parents on his book’s topic, Best Friends, Worst Enemies: The Social Lives of Children. The third talk, with content taken from his book The Pressured Child: Freeing our Kids from Performance Overdrive and Helping them find Success in School and Life, was delivered to Upper School Students & Faculty.

“One of the most beneficial aspects of Thompson’s visit was the way in which he spoke to all audiences and focused on meeting them where they are, addressing their concerns and helping us all understand the importance of the emotional lives of our students. ” Cleary said. “His visit has given us even more tools to continue to support both students and families. We are all in this together!”