Strengthening the School-Family Partnership: Parents\u27 Experiences with the Parents in Partnership with Educators Program (PIPE)

The Parents in Partnership with Educators (PIPE) program was developed as a brief intervention for families who are struggling to communicate with schools around the needs of their child. It includes instruction in communication and conflict resolution strategies. Parents are also provided with support at school meetings to help them implement these strategies. The goal of this thesis was to explore why parents enrol in the PIPE program and what they gain from their involvement. In Study 1, file reviews were conducted of ten families, eight of whom also participated in an interview about their experience. Interview transcripts were analysed using content analysis and three overarching themes were identified including support, skill building, and advocacy. In Study 2, seven professionals and six parents completed an online group concept mapping activity to conceptualize the benefits of the PIPE program. A final eight cluster map was developed to illustrate the key concepts: Support received, Meeting skills, Communication skills, Confidence, Advocacy, Knowledge, Insight, and Validation and Reassurance. Taken together, the findings from these studies suggest that the PIPE program allows parents to feel heard, gain confidence, and ultimately improve their communications with the school. Parents and professionals emphasized the importance of support for parents who may be feeling overwhelmed or unheard among members of the school team. These findings have important implications for parents and educators and point to the need for programs such as PIPE

Who Are We Missing? The Impact of Requiring Parental or Guardian Consent on Research With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Two-Spirit, Queer/Questioning Youth.

PURPOSE: The purpose was to examine whether a requirement for parental or guardian consent systematically limits which lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirit, queer/questioning (LGBT2Q+) youth participate in research. METHODS: A total of 60 LGBT2Q+ youth (aged 14-18 years) completed measures assessing gender and sexual minority identity, depression and anxiety, help-seeking intentions, and social support. RESULTS: A substantial proportion (37.6%) of youth reported that they would not have participated in the research if parental or guardian consent was required. Those who would not have participated had more negative attitudes about their sexual and gender identity, less family support, lower levels of help-seeking intentions, and higher levels of negative affect. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that requiring parental or guardian consent may exclude the most at-risk youth. Policy and practice decisions regarding the health and mental health outcomes of LGBT2Q+ youth might be based on incomplete and unrepresentative data

Vetting of 384 TESS Objects of Interest with TRICERATOPS and Statistical Validation of 12 Planet Candidates

We present TRICERATOPS, a new Bayesian tool that can be used to vet and validate TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs). We test the tool on 68 TOIs that have been previously confirmed as planets or rejected as astrophysical false positives. By looking in the false positive probability (FPP) -- nearby false positive probability (NFPP) plane, we define criteria that TOIs must meet to be classified as validated planets (FPP < 0.015 and NFPP < 10^-3), likely planets (FPP 10^-1). We apply this procedure on 384 unclassified TOIs and statistically validate 12, classify 125 as likely planets, and classify 52 as likely nearby false positives. Of the 12 statistically validated planets, 9 are newly validated. TRICERATOPS is currently the only TESS vetting and validation tool that models transits from nearby contaminant stars in addition to the target star. We therefore encourage use of this tool to prioritize follow-up observations that confirm bona fide planets and identify false positives originating from nearby stars.Comment: Accepted to A

TESS discovery of a sub-Neptune orbiting a mid-M dwarf TOI-2136

peer reviewedWe present the discovery of TOI-2136b, a sub-Neptune planet transiting every 7.85 days a nearby M4.5V-type star, identified through photometric measurements from the TESS mission. The host star is located $33$ pc away with a radius of $R_{\ast} = 0.34\pm0.02\ R_{\odot}$, a mass of $0.34\pm0.02\ M_{\odot}$ and an effective temperature of $\rm 3342\pm100\ K$. We estimate its stellar rotation period to be $75\pm5$ days based on archival long-term photometry. We confirm and characterize the planet based on a series of ground-based multi-wavelength photometry, high-angular-resolution imaging observations, and precise radial velocities from CFHT/SPIRou. Our joint analysis reveals that the planet has a radius of $2.19\pm0.17\ R_{\oplus}$, and a mass measurement of $6.4\pm2.4\ M_{\oplus}$. The mass and radius of TOI2136b is consistent with a broad range of compositions, from water-ice to gas-dominated worlds. TOI-2136b falls close to the radius valley for low-mass stars predicted by the thermally driven atmospheric mass loss models, making it an interesting target for future studies of its interior structure and atmospheric properties

Parents’ Experiences with an Individualized Intervention Designed to Strengthen the Family-School Partnership: The Parents in Partnership with Educators (PIPE) Program

Mental health challenges are common among children, and can interfere with learning and adjustment to school. Although early intervention is crucial and the family–school partnership plays an integral role in the development and implementation of individual education plans (IEPs), there are few supports to assist families in navigating this partnership. This study describes the experiences of parents who participated in the Parents in Partnership with Educators (PIPE) program, an individualized intervention for families who are struggling to communicate and problem-solve with schools around the mental health needs of their children. File review and semi-structured interviews were conducted for ten families. Results indicated that the program gave parents unconditional support and guidance, as well as new skills to help them communicate their perspective in a meaningful way. Parents reported feeling empowered, informed, and prepared to advocate for their children

Parents\u27 Experiences with an Individualized Intervention Designed to Strengthen the Family-School Partnership: The Parents in Partnership with Educators Program (PIPE)

This study describes the experiences of parents who participated in the Parents in Partnership with Educators (PIPE) program, an individualized intervention for families who are struggling to communicate and problem-solve with schools around the mental health needs of their children. File review and semi-structured interviews were conducted for ten families

Reaching the Tipping Point: Supporting Canadian School Stakeholders to Build on Programs that Work for Positive Youth Development and Prevention of Problematic Substance Use

The Centre for School Mental Health at Western University and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) have partnered to develop a series of resources for school communities to promote positive youth development (PYD) through school-based initiatives. Following an extensive literature review and consultations from diverse stakeholders, three key themes emerged to guide the development of these resources: (1) promoting well-being, (2) creating welcoming environments, and (3) effective programming

Vetting of 384 TESS Objects of Interest with TRICERATOPS and Statistical Validation of 12 Planet Candidates

We present TRICERATOPS, a new Bayesian tool that can be used to vet and validate TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs). We test the tool on 68 TOIs that have been previously confirmed as planets or rejected as astrophysical false positives. By looking in the false-positive probability (FPP)−nearby false-positive probability (NFPP) plane, we define criteria that TOIs must meet to be classified as validated planets (FPP10^(−1)). We apply this procedure on 384 unclassified TOIs and statistically validate 12, classify 125 as likely planets, and classify 52 as likely nearby false positives. Of the 12 statistically validated planets, 9 are newly validated. TRICERATOPS is currently the only TESS vetting and validation tool that models transits from nearby contaminant stars in addition to the target star. We therefore encourage use of this tool to prioritize follow-up observations that confirm bona fide planets and identify false positives originating from nearby stars

TESS discovery of a sub-Neptune orbiting a mid-M dwarf TOI-2136

We present the discovery of TOI-2136 b, a sub-Neptune planet transiting a nearby M4.5V-type star every 7.85 days, identified through photometric measurements from the TESS mission. The host star is located 33 pc away with a radius of R* = 0.34 ± 0.02 R⊙, a mass of 0.34 ± 0.02 M⊙ and an effective temperature of 3342 ± 100 K. We estimate its stellar rotation period to be 75 ± 5 days based on archival long-term photometry. We confirm and characterize the planet based on a series of ground-based multi-wavelength photometry, high-angular-resolution imaging observations, and precise radial velocities from CFHT/SPIRou. Our joint analysis reveals that the planet has a radius of 2.20 ± 0.17 R⊕ and a mass of 6.4 ± 2.4 M⊕. The mass and radius of TOI-2136 b is consistent with a broad range of compositions, from water-ice to gas-dominated worlds. TOI-2136 b falls close to the radius valley for M dwarfs predicted by thermally driven atmospheric mass loss models, making it an interesting target for future studies of its interior structure and atmospheric properties

Validation of 13 Hot and Potentially Terrestrial TESS Planets

The James Webb Space Telescope will be able to probe the atmospheres and surface properties of hot, terrestrial planets via emission spectroscopy. We identify 18 potentially terrestrial planet candidates detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) that would make ideal targets for these observations. These planet candidates cover a broad range of planet radii (Rp ~ 0.6-2.0R⊕) and orbit stars of various magnitudes (Ks = 5.78-10.78, V = 8.4-15.69) and effective temperatures (Teff ~ 3000-6000 K). We use ground-based observations collected through the TESS Follow-up Observing Program (TFOP) and two vetting tools-DAVE and TRICERATOPS-to assess the reliabilities of these candidates as planets. We validate 13 planets: TOI-206 b, TOI-500 b, TOI-544 b, TOI-833 b, TOI-1075 b, TOI-1411 b, TOI-1442 b, TOI-1693 b, TOI-1860 b, TOI-2260 b, TOI-2411 b, TOI-2427 b, and TOI-2445 b. Seven of these planets (TOI-206 b, TOI-500 b, TOI-1075 b, TOI-1442 b, TOI-2260 b, TOI-2411 b, and TOI-2445 b) are ultra-short-period planets. TOI-1860 is the youngest (133 ± 26 Myr) solar twin with a known planet to date. TOI-2260 is a young (321 ± 96 Myr) G dwarf that is among the most metal-rich ([Fe/H] = 0.22 ± 0.06 dex) stars to host an ultra-short-period planet. With an estimated equilibrium temperature of ~2600 K, TOI-2260 b is also the fourth hottest known planet with Rp < 2 R⊕