If you returned to school during fall 2021 and thought, “These kids are different from any we’ve seen before,” you are right. Since spring 2020, our staff and students have not had what we would consider to be a normal school year. Due to this and a few other factors, we are now in a connection crisis. What is a connection crisis, and how can we begin to move out of it? This session will be a stepping stone toward finding these answers.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Discover what a true connection is and why connections are so important to children and adults
• Review data that supports this crisis
• Share how this crisis has affected your schools and classrooms, and discuss what can be done

Have you considered whether your actions and responses to unexpected behaviors are correct or actually reinforce the unexpected behaviors? In this session, participants will receive an overview of function-based thinking. Participants also will use sample scenarios to determine the function of a particular behavior and to identify potential next steps and/or supports needed for the situation.

SESSION OUTCOME:

• Be able to apply the principles of function-based thinking within a classroom setting

Acting-out behavior by students manifests in ways that make both classroom management and academic success challenging. In this session, Managing the Cycle of Acting-Out Behavior in the Classroom by Geoffrey T. Colvin and Terrance M. Scott will be used to provide an understanding of acting-out behavior and how educators can intervene proactively in order to prevent or minimize behavioral issues.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Be able to describe the acting-out behavioral cycle
• Identify actionable strategies that can be utilized to support students

This session will cover the key principles for implementing and integrating a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum into your building. Given the level of need, providing an integrated approach to discipline and mental health will help educators be prepared to support students with a truly multi-tiered approach. In this session, participants will be introduced to the National Implementation Research Network tool and will explore how including SEL intentionally can operate with other programs, initiatives, and frameworks to help you work smarter, not harder, while enhancing the safety net of your building climate.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Discover the potential impact of student achievement and school climate with systematic SEL integration
• Review options for SEL implementation and integration with existing frameworks
• Analyze the use of SEL to enhance and monitor school-improvement efforts related to climate and culture

We all need pre-corrects and booster lessons. This session will offer strategies for providing engaging and meaningful professional development for the educators in your building. These professional-development lessons will increase engagement with the classroom practices identified by SW-PBS.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Identify classroom practices that need refreshing
• Experience professional-development strategies for booster lessons of classroom practices

Effectively facilitated and thoughtfully debriefed teaching practices work together to build a solid foundation of safety, consistency, and joy in classrooms throughout the school day. Learn how the three signature social-emotional learning (SEL) practices work in tandem with the teaching matrix to create the conditions for student learning through welcoming routines and rituals, engaging pedagogy, and optimistic closure.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Discover how to incorporate social-emotional competencies into your schoolwide teaching matrix
• Learn how signature SEL practices create conditions for growth and learning across all five SEL competencies, serve as a foundation for culturally responsive teaching strategies, and help develop collaborative classrooms

In this session, participants will hear about the processes and procedures used by Lakeview Middle School and Walden Middle School to track and analyze concerns regarding student behavior. Participants will be guided through the analysis procedures used to determine the root cause of behavior and a selection of interventions to address these concerns. Finally, participants will review a series of student profiles in a collaborative effort to develop an effective behavioral plan.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Learn how to determine the root cause of behavior using effective templates focusing on the ABCs of Behavior Collaborate with others to analyze student profiles and determine best practice interventions to address unexpected behaviors

One way to create an equitable environment is to tie in ideas and concerns raised by students. Come explore resources on how to establish a Student Voice Day; how to gather student voice; and how to initiate a reflective dialogue around the effectiveness of SW-PBS systems, practices, and data use. Then, brainstorm possible options and solutions to best address student ideas and concerns as an SW-PBS team working with students. The most-important step will be to act on these options and solutions to create a place where equity thrives.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Connect student voice to creating equitable environments within your school
• Explore the use of student voice to impact SW-PBS systems, practices, and data

This session will provide the rationale, tools, and exemplars needed to support a district team in developing a districtwide professional development plan. Such a plan will grow expertise across a wide range of teachers, administrators, and staff; will build a parallel process that has the capacity to deliver quality training; and will provide ongoing professional development based on data integrated into district systems.

SESSION OUTCOMES:

• Be able to define and share the benefits of developing a professional learning plan as part of the district-planning process
• Explore professional-development tools (such as PD Blueprint) that team members can use when formulating a districtwide training plan
• Learn how to utilize resources and exemplars to build a professional development plan in your district

Join this session for the Fifth Annual MO SW-PBS Summer Institute Film Festival! See firsthand how Missouri schools are engaging students and staff in creating unique videos that teach schoolwide expectations. Watch these videos, and pick up some creative ideas for your school.