PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TOPICS

These 5 programs can be combined, altered and reconfigured to meet the specific needs of your staff or district in order to deliver a dynamic Full Day Training.

Increasing Classroom Performance through Stronger Connections

Connecting and building relationships within a school and the classroom is vital if true potential is to be realized. This research packed workshop will help educators truly understand how to unleash the power of positive relationships and the impact it will have on academic performance and behavior.

Participants will learn:

• How and why stronger student-teacher connections increase classroom performance.
• Bonnie Bernard's Resiliency Research and how educators can play a key role in increasing resiliency in their students.
• Search Institute's climate/culture changing 40 Developmental Assets
• Intentional actions educators can do to increase student engagement, motivation, interest and involvement, day in and day out
• Strategies to connect with students from Tara's book "Different Cultures-Common Ground: 85 Proven Strategies to Connect in the Classroom."

SURVIVE AND THRIVE
HELPING THE UNDER-RESOURCED STUDENT SUCCEED

With today's economic times, more and more students are becoming Under-Resourced. The school can and should be a major stabilizing force in the lives of kids in poverty. This Research based workshop provides the latest information on identifying and serving these students. Tara has combined her years of working with At-Risk youth with certification in Ruby Payne's 'A Framework for Understanding Poverty' curriculum to create a valuable training for schools serving the Title 1 Population.

Some topics covered include:

• Identifying the resources your students have or need.
• Factors that contribute to underachievement that schools can directly impact.
• Poverty-related behavior that impacts learning and engagement.
• Impact of economic class differences on communication and expectations.
• Symptoms of generational poverty and its impact on achievement.
• 10 Things At-Risk youth wish all educators understood.

BRAIN RULES: Plug In-Turn On
Applying the newest Brain Research in the Classroom

In the past ten years, researchers have discovered more information about the brain than all previous studies/years combined. The advances in our understanding of how the brain works and factors that impact learning have been staggering. This workshop has been designed to help introduce educators to this research in a very easy to understand way as well as to provide strategies to implement the information into their classrooms.

Some topics covered include:

• The strong connection between emotions and learning new information.
• Delivery style and its impact on the synapses switches.
• Stress and its effects on receiving and retention of information.
• Differences in how males and females receive and store information.

This informative training can transform a teacher's approach to preparing and delivering new material and will greatly benefit students of all ages.

You are the CEO of your classroom

Educators are Leaders...or they better be. Many teachers unfortunately are unprepared for taking on that leadership role and becoming the CEO as they step into their classroom. The average teacher retention rate is less than four years, partially because many educators don't fully understand how crucial their leadership approach in the classroom truly is. This program is designed to help educators re-examine their Leadership approach to running their classrooms. It will also help them realize the importance of the Leadership Footprint they are placing on the classroom environment, which will directly impact behavior, student engagement and achievement.

Topics covered include:

• Strategies of successful CEO's and how to best apply those in the classroom.
• Different leadership styles and the impact on students.
• Assessment of how teachers are leading and messages they are sending verbally and nonverbally.
• Examining areas of individual strengths and weaknesses as leaders in the classroom.
• Action plan to begin improving their leadership skills and becoming a more effective CEO.

It's a MARATHON…not a SPRINT
Balancing your Personal and Professional Life

With a 20 year extensive holistic background as a Massage Therapist and an educator, Tara has experienced the fatigue, stress, and frustration from both sides of the equation. As true professionals, we have an obligation to ourselves and to our students to be proactive in activities that will keep us at the ‘Top of our Game'… EVERY DAY.

Topics covered include:

• The physical and emotional impact of stress
• Stress-managing strategies
• Improving the work environment
• Nutritional keys to sustained energy
• Importance of "Me Time"

Knowing the toll that a school year can take on educators emotionally, physically and mentally, this presentation serves as a vital reminder of what is truly important if one is to navigate the challenges and demands that educators experience year in and year out.