DAY 1 BREAKOUTS
Attendees choose one session to attend live during each session time. Video replays will be available through logging into the conference access page through June 1, 2022.
Thursday, November 4, 2021: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM CST
The Impact of Intergenerational Trauma on Marginalized Students, Dinah Taylor
Not only are marginalized students impacted by what they see on the news and in their neighborhoods, generational oppression also has a strong influence on student success. During this interactive session, participants will learn the reasons, the impact that intergenerational trauma has on marginalized students and their communities, and ant-racist and anti-ableism strategies to help ensure the success of marginalized students.
Reflecting on COVID-19: Where Are We? Where Do We Go From Here?, Jen Alexander
Want to engage every student in your school? This session will demonstrate 10 strategies proven to strengthen relationships, grab attention, inspire, and build resilience in students of all ages and learning types. Participants will receive valuable insights into teaching social and emotional life skills in ways that students can understand, relate to, and remember. These strategies have helped over 2 million youth in 18,000 K-12 schools, mental health, and correctional organizations worldwide in the areas of academic success, dropout prevention, classroom management, and bullying prevention. Learn how to engage every student using visual metaphors, videos, music, and activities.
STAC – Collaboration between Educators and Service Providers, Alexandra Newson & Karen Zuniga Zyskind
Collaboration between educators and service providers is a necessary part of supporting a trauma-informed school, but is often fraught with confusion, lack of support, and misunderstandings. One way to promote a positive collaboration, interdisciplinary team decisions, and human-centered practices is to use the STAC acronym. STAC stands for Student Centered, Time, Acknowledgment, Communication. As experienced educators, we will walk you through how to implement these practices and provide examples of how to make your next collaboration focused on the wellbeing of students, while allowing space for growth. We will be drawing on research to review current practices within the field of education, and discuss ways to encourage others to disrupt the system in order to create meaningful collaborative experiences.
Thursday, November 4, 2021: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM CST
Creating Relationships That Make THE Difference, Lisa Cherry
Our attachment relationships, the resilience we build within them and the interdependence we strive for, are all interrelated. For some children, high quality relationships outside of the home can be life changing. In this keynote presentation Lisa will draw upon how we understand attachment and connection and how it supports resilience in relationship building for life. You will leave with practical strategies that support relationship building, how to develop a classroom that is calm and ‘in the moment’ ways of being the best adult we can be for our children.
Introducing a Tiered Approach to Educator Well-Being, Jen Goepfert & Tonya Wilhelm
Burnout and fatigue naturally arise in relationally-based occupations such as education. Much attention has been given to individual wellness and self-care recently. However, we must examine the systems that contribute to burnout, stress, and demoralization also. Schools that are not including systemic interventions while attempting to address staff burnout and mental health can expect to have limited success. We will introduce a tiered approach that addresses educator well-being from a systems perspective while still offering resources and supports to promote individual educator wellness. This tiered support system is specifically focused on adult well-being. Workshop attendees will also have the opportunity to assess their school’s current tiers of support.
The Neurobiology of Restorative Practices, Carlos Alvarez & Candice Dagnino
Emerging brain research is leaning more towards the notion of relationship building and right brain epigenetic social experiences as the vector for optimal learning and optimal social-emotional adjustment. As teachers/ administrators, it is critical to explore and understand how compromised right brain locomotion’s hinder a scholar from experiencing and developing empathy and optimally moving towards emotional and cognitive complexity. The information in this presentation will explore the importance of working under a Right-Brain restorative framing, primarily when working with youth and teachers that are returning from quarantine and has been impacted by COVID-19 and its sequela. Current mental health statistics data indicates that high levels of trauma manifesting in PTSD symptoms are prevalent among scholars in the k-12 system.
DAY 2 BREAKOUTS
Friday, November 5, 2021: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM CST
Building Safety within a Trauma-Informed Classroom, Matthew Vasquez
The concept of safety is often touted as one of the core components of trauma-informed care. Yet, there is often confusion as to what it means to develop safety, or to “be safe”, especially within the classroom. This presentation provides an in-depth discussion on how to promote safety within the classroom using a trauma-informed lens by 1) addressing immediate and basic needs, 2) promoting safe bodies, 3) accepting emotions, and 4) creating consistency and predictability.
Reflective Groups for Educators: A Tool for Cultivating Trauma-Sensitive Schools, Zina Rutkin
In response to the increasingly pressing need to promote educator resilience by supporting the adults who support children and families, Ackerman Institute for the Family has developed an innovative approach to expanding adult reflective capacities, strengthening collegial learning communities, and improving school climate. Called Reflective Groups for Educators (RG-E for short) this approach is equity-focused and incorporates understanding and techniques from the fields of social-emotional learning and trauma-informed instruction, as well as from the clinical world of emotion-focused and attachment-based therapies. Take-aways will include practical applications that participants can implement immediately, as well as information about various types of RG-E groups and upcoming opportunities to participate in one.
Creating Felt Safety in the Classroom, Christina Reese
Trauma removes feelings of safety and security. Restoring safety and security increases emotion regulation and the child’s ability to engage in the classroom. Educators will understand the difference between actual safety and felt safety, then learn ways to increase felt safety in their environments (classrooms and schools). Easy to apply interventions to create felt safety including making emotion regulation available, understanding and meeting the needs of children and exploring the presence that we as adults bring to interactions with students.