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Session Descriptions
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Time
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Welcome Address & Keynote
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Presenter(s)
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8:30 AM - 8:35 AM
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Welcome Address
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Dr. Wolfel, IU 20 Executive Director
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8:35 AM- 9:10 AM
KEYNOTE SESSION
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Accelerated Learning: Closing Achievement Gaps with an Integrated System of Support
Partnerships are the key to success, both in schools and at a state level. The Accelerated Learning Toolkit was developed through a partnership with PDE, IUs and PaTTAN with an explicit goal on integrating learning environments, academics, system supports, and scaffolded supports. This source was developed to specifically focus on providing resources to assist school communities and educational leaders with navigating this ever-changing, unprecedented landscape of educating youth. The Accelerated Learning toolkit is unique in terms of state supports because of Pa’s approach to building healthy system conditions and scaffolded supports. During this session we will review the toolkit and highlight how social-emotional wellbeing are at the core of developing strong, healthy students who are able to academically and socially grow.
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Dr. Dana Milakovic
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Breakout Sessions
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Time
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First Sessions
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Presenter(s)
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9:15 AM- 10:00 AM
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Breakout Session #1A
Mindfulness Projects in the Scranton School District and Howard Gardner MI Charter School
Join us as we showcase the members of the Scranton School District and the Howard Gardner MI Charter School as they share how they incorporate mindfulness in their schools.
IU Facilitator Name: Eliza Vagni
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Phillip Sallavanti of Calm of NEPA and representatives from the Scranton School District and Howard Gardner MI Charter School
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Breakout Session #1B
How To Select an SEL Curriculum
Choosing a SEL program can be a very impactful decision. There are implications for the school budget, crossover with the academic curriculum, requirements for professional development, and data collection concerns. The selection process is one which must be thoughtful and strategic. The concept of “fit” between any one SEL program and the individual needs of a school community will be highlighted. Emphasis will be placed on SEL programs with an empirical base.
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Dr. Ron Prator CIU20
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Breakout Session #1C
Staff Wellness Supports in the Carbondale Area School District
The health of your employees impacts more than just your insurance costs. Healthy employees are more productive, happier, less stressed, and work with increased morale. Research indicates that Wellness programs benefit both employers and employees. If you offer your employees the option to enroll in a corporate wellness program, you show that your school is concerned about its staff’s health and wellbeing. Successful administrators know the importance of employee wellness, indicating that the district is progressive and cares for its staff. During this session you will learn more about increasing staff productivity, reducing stress and adopting a wellness mentality.
IU Facilitator Name: Erin Pencek
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Meg Duffy, Principal of the Carbondale Area Elementary School and mental health support team representatives
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Breakout Session #1D
What Educators Need to Know About SEL and Educational Equity
Is social and emotional learning (SEL) just the latest fad in education? What exactly is it and what does it have to do with academics and other initiatives like educational equity? Is SEL just a veiled attempt to introduce students to controversial concepts and theories? This workshop will uncover what exactly SEL is and why schools all over the world are starting to pay attention to it. We will explore what skills are taught in an SEL framework, how they are taught systemically, and why SEL isn’t just the responsibility of the school counselor. Participants will examine the research that supports SEL skill development and why those skills are crucial not only for academic and life success but also as a foundation for creating a school where everyone feels safe and welcome. Participants will leave this session with a new understanding of what it means to be “educated” and how our schools are rising to the challenge!
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Amy Moritz and Michelle Nutter
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Breakout Session #1E
School Climate and PAYS (Identify Global Concerns)
Description; An overview of the PA School Climate Initiative, the five stages of the School Climate Improvement Process and how to identify and examine existing data to prioritize school climate-related needs.
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Presenter(s):
Sue Kuhl
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Time
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Second Sessions
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Presenter(s)
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10:15 AM- 11:00 AM
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Breakout Session #2A
Social and Emotional Learning Through Yoga and Mindfulness Practices Featuring the NEIU Learning Campus and The Carbondale Area School District
Why should we incorporate Yoga and Mindfulness in Schools? This session will feature the NEIU Learning Campus and the Carbondale School District as they share how they incorporate yoga and mindfulness into the curriculum for students and educators. Programming options will be shared.
IU Facilitator Name: Kelly Dickey/Molly Weber
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Presenter(s): Kelly Evans, Yoga West and representatives from the NEIU Learning Campus and Carbondale Area School District
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Breakout Session #2B
Restorative Practices - Calming Rooms in School
The central purpose of a calming room is to help individuals regulate their emotions. The use of the calming rooms is to emphasize the child’s Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Behaviors are symptoms that we would like to address using Restorative Practices (RP) as opposed to punitive measures. A child who is experiencing distress in the classroom can request to be encouraged to go to the calming room to use physical activity items, soft lighting, bean bags, and other items to “ground” or be able to emotionally regulate before returning to the classroom. Schools are reporting seeing students begin to emotionally regulate on the way to the calming room. Youth are offered as they enter the school if they look as though they are experiencing distress. Intense distress is no longer resulting in disciplinary action for the students and the rooms are being used for CYS interviews, police interviews and meeting with parents. Adults are using the rooms to calm as well. Students who may not have been able to go on a field trip are able to go using a traveling calming bag with similar items. The rooms are now being developed in courthouses across the BHARP counties and beyond. The first Judge to implement the room reports this profoundly changed family court. Children are no longer in tears while talking with the judge and are playing and relaxed during the discussions.
IU Facilitator Name: Regina Myers
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Presenter(s):
BHARP - Behavioral Health Alliance of Rural Pennsylvania
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Breakout Session #2C
Beyond Bullying: Preventing and Responding to Protected Class Bullying and Harassment
As schools work to successfully prevent and intervene in acts of bullying, they are often challenged by bullying behaviors that cross the line into civil, civil rights or criminal law violations. Guidance from The United States Department of Education and United States Department of Justice will be viewed and discussed. Participants will examine federal statutes that prohibit bullying and harassment based on protected classes, such as race, color, national origin, gender and disability. Participants will also receive information relative to possible criminal law implications when bullying behaviors cause mental or physical injury to targeted students. Finally, this session will examine the legal ramifications of "deliberate indifference" with regard to failure to address bullying in their schools.
IU Facilitator Name: Mike Motsko
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Presenter(s):
Michelle Nutter
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Breakout Session #2D
Relationships First, Everything Else Second
In the words of Dr. James Comer, “No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.” Healthy and respectful relationships are foundational to a safe and supportive learning environment where students feel that they belong, where they can be authentic without fear of rejection, and where they know that others care for them. When students feel safe and connected to others and have meaningful opportunities to be decision-makers and problem-solvers, they demonstrate curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion for learning. But this type of learning environment does not happen by accident – it takes intentionality and effort. This workshop explores the ways in which we can cultivate safe and supportive learning environments. We will examine strategies and mindsets that increase students’ sense of belonging, offer voice and empowerment to all students, and ultimately maximize motivation and engagement in the learning process.
IU Facilitator Name: Erin Pencek
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Presenter(s):
Amy Moritz
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Breakout Session #2E
Compassion Resilience
In education environments we want adults to be able to maintain a compassionate presence as they interact with children who face complex challenges. Resilience is not only for students. All of us face adversity. The ability to bounce back with new learning and strength can make a difference for our school communities. Each of us has a path to reaching our full potential.
IU Facilitator Name: Cara Devine
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Presenter(s):
Cara Devine, Educational Consultant LIU18
Tina Gelso,
Educational Consultant LIU18
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Breakout Session #2F
TBD
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Presenter(s):
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Time
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Third Sessions
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Presenter(s)
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11:15 AM- 12:00 PM
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Breakout Session #3A
Adopting Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the Scranton School District
This session will provide participants an overview of how the Scranton School District has implemented SEL programming district-wide. Members of the District-Level SEL team will share programming examples as well as discuss some of the successes and challenges they are experiencing while implementing SEL within the district.
IU Facilitator Name: Eliza Vagni/Erin Pencek
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Presenter(s):
Eliza Vagni, NEIU 19 Director of Educational Programs and Services and members of Scranton School District district-level SEL Core Team
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Breakout Session #3B:
IU20 Showcase
IU20- Renew, check in/out, check and connect etc. Colonial Academy began to target programs like Check and Connect and RENEW to embellish our SEL programming and to prepare students to transition between classrooms and back to their home school. Colonial Academy adopted RENEW (Rehabilitation for Empowerment, Natural Supports, Education, and Work) as a MTSS tier 2 and 3 intervention for supporting our high school students. It is a structured school-to-career transition planning and individualized wraparound process that focuses on decision making and problem solving while identifying the student’s support system. It is geared to provide students with emotional and behavioral challenges an opportunity to develop a plan for the transition from school to adult life. Check and Connect is a mentor program that is utilized with our tier 2 students at the Academy. The program is about fostering adult relationships in school to encourage the disengaged students to complete school and develop their academic and social competence. We will share with you Colonial Academy’s first year experiences and examples of implementation.
IU Facilitator Name: Dr. Carolyn Krotowski
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Presenter(s):
IU 20- Dr. Carolyn Krotowski, Principal Colonial Academy
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Breakout Session #3C
No Time for Compassion Fatigue: A Short Discussion
This highly interactive session will examine self-care practices for busy educators. Participants gain an understanding of the causes and impact of burnout and stress. Presenters will provide strategies and tools for a practical self-care plan.
IU Facilitator Name: Ty Yost
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Presenter(s): Leah Harry Galkowski and Michelle Kern from the Center for Schools and Communities
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Breakout Session #3D
The Resilient Educator: Strategies for Finding Work-Life Synergy
As an educator during these challenging times, you’re doing your best to take care of your students but who is taking care of YOU? The demands and expectations for educators are beyond challenging and many are so consumed with insurmountable workloads that making time for friends, family and interests outside of work feels impossible. When our jobs become all-consuming, we can experience both physical and emotional exhaustion which can lead to a variety of unfavorable outcomes. This workshop was designed to encourage wellbeing and to build a sense of community and encourage a movement amongst educators – one that insists that boundaries be honored and that expectations be reassessed. Together, we can begin to make changes that prioritize our own mental health and wellness, which ultimately benefit the entire school community.
IU Facilitator Name: Regina Myers
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Presenter(s):
Amy Moritz
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Breakout Session #3E
Practical Strategies for a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom
Trauma is prevalent. More than two-thirds of American children reported experiencing a traumatic event by the age of 16 (Copeland, Keeler, Angold, & Coste, 2007). Individuals who have experienced trauma are at an increased risk of being negatively impacted academically, behaviorally, and socially. How can educators support students using trauma-sensitive practices? This session will highlight practical classroom-based strategies to support students with an emphasis on cultivating a positive learning environment for all.
IU Facilitator Name: Denise Kaminski
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Presenter(s):
IU20 TaC
Courtney Fenner
Joana Spinelli
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Breakout Session #3F
How to Speak Up and Respond to Biased Language
Many of us have found ourselves in the uncomfortable situation where someone - a student, parent or colleague - uses biased language or stereotypes in front of us at school. When this happens, we can be caught off guard or unsure how to respond which results in our silence. The famous quote, “what we permit, we promote,” helps us understand that by remaining silent during these difficult situations, we convey our acceptance of inappropriate language and behavior. When someone makes a biased statement, we must act quickly and be consistent in responding regardless of who has made the offensive statement. This workshop, based on Learning for Justice’s (formerly Teaching Tolerance) publication, Speak Up at School: How to Respond to Everyday Prejudice, Bias and Stereotypes, is designed for educators who want to develop the skills to speak up themselves and who want to help their students find the courage to speak up, too. Using video scenarios, participants will learn to use four techniques (interrupt, question, educate and echo) to respond to biased language in the moment, from any source, in any situation.
IU Facilitator Name: Sue Kuhl
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Presenter(s):
Michele Nutter
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Breakout Session #3G
Navigate 360
Electronic platforms for managing School Safety Procedures can be used as effective tools to enhance this process. Once such provider, Navigate 360, will discuss its products and the benefits of their usage.
IU Facilitator Name: Navigate 360 Representatives
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Presenter(s): Navigate 360 Presenter: Navigate 360 Representatives
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Breakout Session #3H
The Key to Success in Comprehensive School Safety: Climate and Culture!
So many organizations today emphasize the physical factors related to safety: Secure doors, window film, protective barriers, cameras, etc. These elements are critical to safety but are only as good as the people who use them. Effective and positive climate, repetitively initiated over time, leads to an engrained, proactive, safety culture. So often schools and other entities struggle to focus on these critical elements due to time, cost, and other constraints. This presentation will provide solutions and ideas to stimulate thinking for how to evaluate your climate, establish short term goals and “wins”, and how to effectively implement what you are already doing with a twist to heighten its effectiveness. Most importantly, the focus is on no/low cost solutions that breed self-sustainable success for the future!
IU Facilitator Name: Mike Motsko
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Presenter(s):
Randy Fox, Cardinal Point Security
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Time
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Special Bonus Session
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Presenter(s)
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12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
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Trauma 101
As a society and as individuals, we need to be better informed and prepared to prevent and address the traumatic impact of childhood adversities. In this multimedia, interactive workshop, professionals work together to build a powerful image that helps them appreciate the complex nature of trauma and its aftermath.
IU Facilitator Name: Cara Devine
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Cara Devine, Educational Consultant LIU18
Tina Gelso,
Educational Consultant LIU18
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