In-Service Workshops

Teaching is not just about lessons and grading. Most teacher training focuses on content and classroom management but provides little training in emotional intelligence, co-regulation, and restorative responses. These skills are essential for making adaptive, emotionally responsive decisions in the moment when students present behavioral, social emotional, or functional challenges. In this workshop, we will use the REAL Framework and CORE practices to help you stay calm, support students, and create a classroom where everyone feels safe and ready to learn.

The Growth Mindset model was developed by psychologist Carol Dweck more than 20 years ago. It has proven itself to be a very effective way of helping students of all ages manage the challenges of any skill or task, including how to cope with imperfections and mistakes. Perhaps a good way of describing this model is to throw away the adage “Practice makes perfect” and instead say “Practice makes progress.” The Growth Mindset model addresses this, and this presentation covers how it does so. This workshop is 75 – 90 minutes.

This engaging and interactive presentation helps students explore the impact of screen time on their mental, physical, and emotional health. Participants will learn to recognize the signs of unhealthy screen habits and discover practical strategies for finding a healthy balance between digital life and real-life activities. Through real-world examples, group discussions, and self-reflection, students will gain insight into how screen time affects sleep, relationships, academic performance, and overall well-being. This workshop emphasizes mindful technology use and encourages the development of daily habits that support a more balanced and fulfilling lifestyle.

1 in 3 teens experience teen dating violence, that we know of. Many teens experience shame and hide their relationships from their support systems. Teen relationship dynamics are heavily influenced by media, family, and peers. The dynamics that teens are learning from are not always healthy but can shape what a healthy relationship looks like to them. In this session we will be discussing healthy, unhealthy, and abusive teen relationships. Participants will be learning skills to recognize, respond, and support youth. Although these are hard conversations to have, they are important for growth and healing.

Helping Children Develop Resiliency and Self-Esteem is a professional development workshop designed to support educators in nurturing children’s emotional strength and positive sense of self. The workshop explores how supportive relationships, responsive teaching practices, and inclusive learning environments help children manage challenges, build confidence, and develop perseverance. Participants will reflect on their own interactions, learn practical strategies to foster independence and self-regulation, and gain tools to promote resilience and healthy self-esteem in everyday classroom experiences. This workshop is intended for PreK - Gr. 2 staff.

Russ Terry has been documenting a different expression of gratitude every day for ALMOST ELEVEN YEARS, since 12/10/12. These almost 4,000 straight days of being grateful have had an infinitely positive impact on his life. In this workshop, he will teach you how you can use gratitude to improve your life too. As a result of attending, you will articulate up to 20 unique expressions of gratitude and the lessons you learned from being grateful.

"Who wants to get suspended?" This one-hour workshop engages current/graduating high school seniors' and provides them with honest/"real world" information about college success OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM, in RESIDENCE HALLS, and WORKING WITH COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION. This interactive conversation emphasizes safety, what to expect when you get to college, and community expectations including but not limited to alcohol and other drugs, noise, damage, and all the typical things that plainly speaking, first-year college students find themselves getting into trouble with. This workshop can also be done for high school administration and designed to encourage practitioners to think about what information they most want students to understand as they prepare for higher education.

This highly engaging presentation guides high school students through the steps to becoming proactive and positive bystanders. After the session, students will be able to recognize high-risk situations, reach out to friends or resources, and pledge to help keep campuses and communities safe.

With an increasing number of children experiencing elevated anxiety levels, this workshop aims to support parents in identifying red flags, symptoms, and indicators that their child(ren) may be struggling to regulate and manage big feelings. We will explore the difference between developmental expectations and challenges vs. signs of elevated anxiety, along with the role the brain plays in the experience of emotion, and ways to help support and co-regulate with our children when they are struggling. Finally, we will review ways to proactively communicate with our kids in order to promote healthy understanding and expression of all emotions. This workshop is available for staff and parents.

Explore digital wellness from a student perspective as a young scholar and psychology researcher at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will bring to life the story, science, and voice of Generation Z in a digital era. This workshop involves an interactive, collaborative style of learning that involves elements of Keegan's personal advocacy journey, an in-depth summary of how the brain reacts to social media, and how the social media algorithm is wired to engage attention. Keegan will highlight the importance of human connection in a growing digital era, and how parents and educators can promote a healthy tech/life balance.

Focusing on the importance of intervening early when students show a pattern of missing school or arriving late, this workshop explores the dynamics of excessive absenteeism and truancy, including why students do not come to school. Resources available through the courts and social service agencies are detailed. This presentation is only available to school staff and administrators.

Due to recent high-profile cases of athletes talking openly and honestly about their mental health, now is a great time to have teams come together to look at how they can ensure mental, physical, relational and individual health is recognized and prioritized.

Most people are not as confident as they could be. In this workshop, you will do an initial assessment of your confidence and then learn ways to boost your confidence. You will also articulate the benefits of added confidence and how you can STAY confident.

Professionals working in the field of special education face the often challenging task of working with colleagues from different training and theoretical backgrounds to help students accomplish their educational, social, behavioral and functional goals. During this workshop, we will define collaboration, discuss how to adopt a collaborative mindset, and recommend specific collaborative behaviors for maintaining positive professional relationships with members of our teams while effectively working together to help students reach their goals.

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) require specialized treatment based on their unique profile of strengths and vulnerabilities. This workshop will discuss effective treatment and intervention strategies that can be used in the classroom. This workshop will present current research and evidence-based practices to foster functional independence in the areas of social communication and interaction, behavioral regulation, and adaptive behavior. Use of supports that enhance academic and educational functioning will also be discussed.