In-Service Workshops

This interactive training will enhance staff's understanding of the reasons behind students' behavior and how they can help their students achieve their goals. The training will cover practical student support strategies that are proactive, compassionate, and student-centered and the importance of responding to behavior with consistency and predictability in the classroom. Participants will explore how to approach their work with a neurodiversity affirming approach and how to effectively flow through challenging situations. This workshop is offered as a single session, multiple sessions, half-day training, or full-day training.

This workshop helps each participant understand what barrier behaviors they have in their personal “Awkward Zone™” — that place of knowing a co-worker or employee is struggling but not knowing what to say or do.

Dive into the world of neuroscience and psychology as this workshop offers a deep dive into how the brain reacts to social media. Explore the relationship between the brain on social media and peer feedback, peer influence, human connection, sleep, and evolutionary psychology. Learn to identify certain signs of addiction in children and adolescents and analyze fMRI scans to see how the neurochemistry of the young and developing mind is changing because of digital overload. How can we replace the dopamine we receive from social media with other forms of dopamine? Is social media a drug? How does social media addiction compare to other forms of addiction such as alcohol and substance abuse? These are just some of the topics to be explored by this presentation by Keegan Lee, a psychology and neuroscience researcher at The University of North Carolina.

As early as second grade students are arriving at school each day with a cell phone, a device that greatly increases their access to the online world as well as being a distraction and source of social conflict and misinformation. We will examine the options that exist for controlling cell phone use both at home and in the schools as well as the addictive behaviors seen in cell phone use.

Do your kids spend a lot of time on Tiktok, YouTube, or playing Fortnite? Do you as parents struggle to understand everything that is going on in their online lives? You may also be wondering how your own relationship with technology might be healthier. You’re in the right place! Coming out of the pandemic, many of us have spent more time on screens than ever before, and the lines between home, work, and school are blurry, making it challenging to unplug from our devices. Join us as we discuss navigating this balance with tips and tools to: • Achieve sustainable, positive digital practices with family and at work. • Optimize your digital habits for better mental health and family connection. • Prevent and recover from sensory overload and digital overwhelm. • Positively shift your relationship with your devices so they fuel vs. fatigue your relationships.

We think of alcohol as a beverage, but we know that it’s also a drug. Teens discuss “drinking” beer, “drinking” games and “drinking” as an activity unto itself, but what if we were to replace the word “drinking” with “drugging” in those contexts? If alcohol use creates changes in decision-making or mental status, we’re drugging with alcohol, and it’s important to understand alcohol in that context. This presentation examines alcohol as a drug, considering alcohol’s actions, side effects, dosing and overdosing, addiction and dependence risks, legal and health consequences and more.

The general acceptance of recreational intoxication in young people has never been as high as it is today, and as the country moves toward the decriminalization/legalization of marijuana, this popularity will continue to grow. The New Drug Education looks at current trends in use and attitudes about intoxication, considers best practices for educating and raising adolescents, and examines the legal and health risk factors young people are facing.

Research shows that there is real power in play. Through play, children develop the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills they need to thrive both now and into their futures. Play is both fun and a vital way that children learn about themselves and the world around them. This workshop is recommended for Preschool through Grade 2 staff.

Designed for school psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, nurses, and special education staff, this workshop will discuss identifying a student's strengths and challenges using neuropsychological testing. Participants will learn how to examine neuropsychological tests, how they are used, and how to develop instructional and behavioral strategies for students based on these assessments.

School nurses provide support and advocacy to students with mental health issues daily and are often the first school professional to recognize the signs and symptoms of a mental health disorder. This workshop will provide school nurses with an update on the most commonly encountered mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, and PTSD and strengthen their skills for managing students’ symptoms of these disorders in the health office. Participants will build on their collaborative and communication skills with school-based student support personnel, including in the context of 504 plans, IEPs, and IHPs, as well as caregivers, and community-based providers.