“We watched this kid’s whole attitude change from having his head down and dragging his feet to being bouncy and joyful,” Smitten said. “His whole demeanor changed because he became comfortable with whatever choice he needed to make — because he had support.” The support doesn’t end there. Teachers at Norterra Canyon have put students on suicide watch because they now have the toolbox to know what to watch for. And students feel more comfortable talking to teachers because they’ve had difficult conversations in class and know their teachers are open to having those conversations. B ut it’s a big world out there — and now that the pilot is complete, MASK plans to offer the E3 Institute to schools, clubs, domestic violence shelters, foster care agencies and other organizations across the country. “The program is so universal,” Cabral said. “It’s not just talking about bullying and drugs. It’s life skills and social-emotional learning that every child needs.” In an effort to get MASK’s lessons into even more hands, MASK launched the MASKMatters app last October. Built for parents, teachers and children from elementary school through college, the free bilingual app now makes the MASK curriculum accessible to anyone. “We want to do that heavy lifting for parents,” Cabral said. “It takes education and staying up to date on this ever-changing landscape that we are raising children in today.” Cabral’s children are now 16 to 26, so she’s had her own test lab at home. “I’ve used everything that we have. We use the methods, the conversations. It’s who we are,” she said. “WE CAN’T BE THERE WITH THEM EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY, SO THEY NEED TO KNOW WHERE TO GET THE TOOLS TO FEEL THEY HAVE SOME CONTROL IN A TIME WHEN NO ONE HAS CONTROL.” Available in English and Spanish, the MASKMatters app was designed to give children, parents and teachers modern-day tools at their fingertips. SEPT/OCT 2020 | 24 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA

engage, that is important. We have to, as parents, create that safe environment for them, because structure equals safety and security.” As a new, very different, school year unfolds at Norterra Canyon, Mary Smitten sees the kids leaning on the MASK programming they’ve learned in previous years. “They’re talking about making friends and they’re using language they learned in kindergarten,” she said. They’ll need the tools and language more than ever. “You can see kids crying out for that personal connection. Kids that are normally bubbly, lose their enthusiasm partway through,” Smitten said. “They are feeling alone and isolated. They need this toolkit that MASK provides. We can’t be there with them every minute of the day, so they need to know where to get the tools to feel they have some control in a time when no one has control.” Even in a pandemic, with its digital curriculum, magazine and parenting app, MASK stands ready to help both kids and parents. That’s what Kimberly Cabral has wanted and worked for since the day she had that eye-opening conversation with her son. MASK provides a host of resources for families to educate their kids on issues that change by the day — they just have to use them. “People can log in and learn on our digital platform and tell people about it. They can subscribe to the magazine or download the app. There are many ways people can help. But mostly, they can help by helping their own family,” Cabral said. To learn more, go to maskmatters.org . Still, between the ever-expanding reach of technology and the threat of COVID-19, she concedes that parenting is harder than ever. “I can’t believe how technology has hijacked our kids,” Cabral said. “My oldest is 26. When he was a teenager, Facebook and MySpace were just starting, but it didn’t consume our kids. We used to teach parents to keep bad influences out of the house. Now you have a device that’s bringing all of that in. The stress, the drama, the sexting — it’s too much.” MASK counsels parents to monitor, set boundaries and put time limits on technology for children’s well- being. “It is so out of control if you don’t stay part of it. I tell my kids this is an adult device that I am letting them use. At any time, I’m going to know their passwords and do phone checks,” Cabral said. “It’s not like if they do something wrong, you shame them — it’s an opportunity to teach them. If you do that with judgment, you’re missing the whole opportunity a mistake is giving you to teach them.” Meanwhile, COVID-19 is presenting a host of new challenges for families, made worse by social isolation. “As kids, connection is such a big part of their growth and development. They’re kind of being robbed of that right now,” Cabral said. Vaping is out of control, and substance abuse is up. More kids are turning to opioids and other pills parents have in their medicine cabinets. “Kids are stressed,” Cabral said. To help in this uncertain time, MASK encourages replacing fear with family time. “The level of stress that this generation is being brought up in is not healthy,” Cabral said. “If we can learn to make family time important and not just live under the same roof, but really FRONTDOORS MEDIA | 25 | SEPT/OCT 2020