WAKEFIELD — Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) hosted a virtual seminar for educators, “Tier 1 Practices to Prevent Emotional Dysregulation and Behavioral Crisis,” on Tuesday, May 5.
Over 530 educators, support staff and school administrators from across Massachusetts attended the seminar and learned how the state’s updated timeout and seclusion regulations will limit the conditions in which schools may rely on crisis-driven behavioral interventions.
The seminar examined how the new regulations reinforce the need for stronger Tier 1 emotion regulation systems within schools and emphasize the use of teacher-student relationships as a primary classroom management strategy.
Presenters Alex Hirshberg, Psy.D., and Michael J. Joyce, Esq., provided participants with proactive classroom systems designed to prevent crisis behaviors and support students to learn in the least restrictive educational environment.
Hirshberg is the founder and executive director of Hirshberg Behavioral Health Services. He is a clinical psychologist who provides behavioral consultation, professional development and psychological assessment services to schools throughout the state. He has an outpatient therapy practice focused on using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for individuals with anxiety and mood disorders.
Joyce is a former public school teacher and is currently an attorney with MacAvoy, Joyce and Kowalski, P.C., which specializes in general education and special education laws in public schools. Joyce previously served as a Civil Rights Attorney for the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Prior to his legal career, Joyce taught in public elementary schools for three years as a member of Teach for America and was nominated for Teacher of the Year.
About the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, fosters collaboration and develops programming to increase the health and safety of students. MPY is committed to bringing cutting-edge information and high-quality trainings to constituents and endeavors to provide solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and ideally eliminating risky behaviors for youth. MPY programming reaches nearly 6,000 educators per year in Massachusetts, spread across approximately 300 districts, with more than 190 webinars and over a dozen conferences and seminars.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth is governed by a Board of Directors made up of school superintendents, police and fire chiefs, and other community leaders who work closely with MPY staff to deliver this mission. To learn more, visit: massachusettspartnershipsforyouth.com.
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