Why prioritize student resilience now?

During this COVID pandemic, the challenges and trauma we have all experienced have had a huge impact on both students and teachers.  We have seen schools all over the country struggling to support the mental health needs of students, staff and parents.  Another big concern for all educators caused by remote learning and mixed up schedules, has been the reduced ability to establish and maintain those important relationships with all students.  Feeling connected has been identified as one of the top areas of focus for schools across the country.

Emotional Supports for Educators and Students

As we continue to move forward in the second year of the pandemic, school districts and administrators are focusing on what we must do to address the trauma and meet the social and emotional needs of students.  There has never been a greater need for trauma informed practices and a focus on fostering resilience in our students and staff than we are seeing right now!

Christian Moore Don’t miss this opportunity to listen to Christian Moore, the author of the popular book “The Resilience Breakthrough” and the founder of one of the the WhyTry Program, one of the leading SEL programs in the country used in over 30,000 schools. Christian is going to share his incredible personal story of resilience and why resilience should be at the forefront of our focus going into the next school year. He will also share some powerful tips and strategies for accessing the resilience we all have inside of us.

Trauma Informed Supports for Educators and Students

The challenges of this pandemic and the trauma we have all experienced, has had a huge impact on students and teachers and will likely cause a ripple effect of academic deficiencies that will stretch into the coming years.  As we begin this new school year, districts and administrators are focusing on what we must do to address the trauma and meet the social emotional needs of students.  There has never been a greater need for trauma informed practices and a focus on fostering resilience in our students and staff than we are seeing right now!

Panel discussion

In this webinar we discuss how to make student mental health a priority in your schools and classrooms, how to help students that are struggling emotionally and lacking motivation, and what we can do foster resilience in ourselves and others.   

Panelists:

Dr. Anissa Reilly

Dr. Reilly has been in education for over 30 years. For just under the last 15, she has been the principal of an elementary school in a large urban school district. She received her undergraduate degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, her master’s degree from Bank Street College of Education, and her doctorate from The Sage Colleges of Albany. She is the president and owner of Giant Step 6 LLC. Her primary goal and passion as the senior consultant is to develop national and global leaders so they can effectively lead their perspective organization. She is the loving wife of Gordon Reilly Jr. and the mother of four amazing young people. She recently received proclamations from New York State Senator Jose Serrano and New York City Council Woman Vanessa Gibson for her assistance with improving the lives of the people in her community. The first book in her leadership series, “5 Buckets of Leadership: Speaking in the Moment” is soon to be released on Amazon. The date for the release of her children’s book series about an African-American female educational superhero named, Dr. Action, is soon to be scheduled. For more information, visit our website: GiantStep6LLC.com.

Dr. Joseph Fantigrossi

Dr. Fantigrossi is a graduate of the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester. He began his 26 years in education as a Social Studies teacher and has dedicated the last 19 years of his career as a building and district administrator. He is currently serving as the Director of Intervention and Professional Development for Finger Lakes Community Schools and Coordinator of Seneca County Community Schools. He has presented on the topics of Trauma-Informed Instruction, Community Schools, and Tiered Intervention over 100 times in the last 5 years, including the PBIS National Conference in Chicago and the International APBS Conference and has consulted in over 30 districts. He was published in the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice in the fall of 2020.

Jason Johnson

Jason is a licensed school psychologist and has published research on resilience and student performance. Jason is a passionate advocate for disadvantaged students and currently consults and trains educators across the nation as the director of training and research for the WhyTry organization.

Jason is a thought leader on resilience education and has spoken at hundreds of conferences around the country. He has led successful implementations of all WhyTry programs and has pioneered trainings for clients in healthcare, corporate, and the US Military.

Social Emotional Learning Supports for Educators and Students

The challenges of this pandemic and the trauma we have all experienced, has had a huge impact on students and teachers and will likely cause a ripple effect of academic deficiencies that will stretch into the coming years.  As we begin this new school year, school districts and administrators are focusing on what we must do to address the trauma and meet the social emotional needs of students.  There has never been a greater need for trauma informed practices and a focus on fostering resilience in our students and staff than we are seeing right now!

Panel Discussion

In this webinar we discuss how to make SEL a priority in your schools and classrooms, how to help students that are struggling emotionally and lacking motivation, and what we can do foster resilience in ourselves and others.  Our panel of education leaders demonstrate tools, share insights and discuss strategies from leading SEL programs, The WhyTry Program and Resilience For Youth  that are currently being used to address SEL needs in thousands of schools across the US and internationally.  

Panelists

Bruce Bushnell Bruce Bushnell has centered his career around promoting youth success. He is an award winning school counselor. Bruce was named the counselor of the year for the state of Utah and was also honored at the White House, receiving national recognition for his counseling interventions. Bruce has been a member of the Executive High School Relations Board, senior vice president of the Alpine Counseling Association, and vice president of the Utah Counselor Association. Bruce now helps youth succeed by presenting passionate WhyTry keynotes and trainings across the country. As an advocate of the program from its earliest days, Bruce has also been a key contributor in developing many of the WhyTry learning activities, which are proven to help youth develop the social and emotional skills necessary to reach their goals.

Cory Anderson Cory has spent nearly two decades as an educator, beginning as a teacher and then as an administrator. He has been an assistant principal at a middle school and has served as a principal of two different elementary schools. Cory pioneered and started one of two public STEM programs in the state of Utah and helped consult with the state office of education on creating STEM standards for schools that would eventually be adopted by the STEM action center. Also during his tenure as an elementary school as principal, Cory oversaw behavioral units and lead his school in implementing social and emotional programs and STEM activities. In 2019, Cory joined the WhyTry team as a trainer and director of curriculum development, after using its social and emotional tools for close to ten years in his administrative duties.

Jason Johnson Jason is a licensed school psychologist and has published research on resilience and student performance.  Jason is a passionate advocate for disadvantaged students and currently consults and trains educators across the nation as the director of training and research for the WhyTry organization. Jason is a thought leader on resilience education and has spoken at hundreds of conferences around the country. He has led successful implementations of all WhyTry programs and has pioneered trainings for clients in healthcare, corporate, and the US Military.

Why prioritize connecting with students now?

During this COVID year one of the biggest concerns for all educators has been the inability to establish and maintain those important relationships with all students.  Now as we begin a new school year feeling connected has been identified as one of the top areas of focus for schools across the country.

A powerful approach to connecting with all of your students

Surrendering the One Up Relationship is a set of specific strategies that help educators build authentic, unconditional relationships that help all students feel understood, valued, and safe. When done effectively, Surrendering the One Up Relationship is the X-factor for motivating all student to action and seeing their potential.

New Staff Development and Administrators Toolkit

In this webinar we discuss how to adapt to individual student needs and provide practical interventions that can inspire and motivate them in a time that is unprecedented in our history. Our panel demonstrate strategies from WhyTry’s new Surrendering the one-up Relationship Staff Development and  Administrators Toolkit designed to help all educators create a shift in perspective towards building relationships that motivate. 

Listen as our panel of experts as they discuss how we can help students that are struggling emotionally and dealing with trauma, and what we can do to help them cope and find ways to thrive in this new school year.  

Panelists

Bruce Bushnell Bruce Bushnell has centered his career around promoting youth success. He is an award winning school counselor. Bruce was named the counselor of the year for the state of Utah and was also honored at the White House, receiving national recognition for his counseling interventions. Bruce has been a member of the Executive High School Relations Board, senior vice president of the Alpine Counseling Association, and vice president of the Utah Counselor Association. Bruce now helps youth succeed by presenting passionate WhyTry keynotes and trainings across the country. As an advocate of the program from its earliest days, Bruce has also been a key contributor in developing many of the WhyTry learning activities, which are proven to help youth develop the social and emotional skills necessary to reach their goals.

Cory Anderson Cory has spent nearly two decades as an educator, beginning as a teacher and then as an administrator. He has been an assistant principal at a middle school and has served as a principal of two different elementary schools. Cory pioneered and started one of two public STEM programs in the state of Utah and helped consult with the state office of education on creating STEM standards for schools that would eventually be adopted by the STEM action center. Also during his tenure as an elementary school as principal, Cory oversaw behavioral units and lead his school in implementing social and emotional programs and STEM activities. In 2019, Cory joined the WhyTry team as a trainer and director of curriculum development, after using its social and emotional tools for close to ten years in his administrative duties.

Jason Johnson Jason is a licensed school psychologist and has published research on resilience and student performance.  Jason is a passionate advocate for disadvantaged students and currently consults and trains educators across the nation as the director of training and research for the WhyTry organization. Jason is a thought leader on resilience education and has spoken at hundreds of conferences around the country. He has led successful implementations of all WhyTry programs and has pioneered trainings for clients in healthcare, corporate, and the US Military.

Why we need to prioritize school connectedness now

School connectedness is typically defined as “the belief held by students that adults and peers in the school care about their learning as well as about them as individuals.” Connected Schools become places where students are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors and succeed academically.  During this COVID year one of the biggest concerns for all educators has been the inability to establish and maintain those important relationships with all students.  Now as we begin a new school year feeling connected has been identified as one of the top areas of focus for schools across the country.

In this webinar we share the keys to creating a connected school and  connected classrooms that can be vital to motivating those difficult to reach students.  We discuss practical examples how all educators can help their schools prioritize social emotional needs of students and how building connections with students can increase resilience.  Listen as our panel of experts including an award winning teacher, counselor and principal as they discuss how we can help students that are struggling emotionally and dealing with trauma, and what we can do to help them cope and find ways to thrive in this new school year.  

 

Panelists

Ashley Wright Born and raised in Houston, TX, Ashley Wright went through undergraduate studies as an Education Major at Sam Houston State University as well graduate studies as a Professional School Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor. She currently serves as an elementary school counselor in Conroe ISD at Lucille J. Bradley Elementary. She has been an educator for the past 13 years and a school counselor for the past 4 years. Ashley Wright teaches students to accept diversity, increase their self-esteem, build character and maintain resilience. Ashley continues to implement a diverse comprehensive counseling program that is dedicated to meeting the needs of her students, staff and the community. From weekly counseling lessons, student leadership opportunities, parent education shows, and student achievement awards, Ashley brings enthusiasm and campus engagement throughout the entire school year. As an advocate for the school counseling profession, Ashley has also presented several national webinars with the national WhyTry program and Region 4 Education Center with counseling program implementation ideas, tools and strategies to increase student attendance and engagement, and school counselor self care. Overall, Ashley continues to influence other professional school counselors in their role and strives to create change in our education system.

Jamila A. Hud-Kirk Jamilah Hud-Kirk, also known as Principal Captain Kirk, has served as an educator for over 23 years and currently serves as an elementary principal in one of the largest urban school districts in Metro Atlanta for the past 12 years. As a school leader, she has focused on creating a culture of high performance and impacting teachers instructional practices that are innovative, culturally relevant and aligned with student achievement best practices.    Growing up in a household where her parents were active in the civil rights movement and where the importance of building strong communities in which we live were stressed, she continues to strive to create conditions inside and outside of the school that impact change and opportunity for our children. Jamilah believes passionately that education can positively affect communities, transform lives, and shape new visions for leading and learning in a globally competitive world. Grounded in her earliest years as a classroom teacher and growing up in a home where the importancelife-long learning were stressed, Jamilah also believes these early beginnings have shaped her ability to harvest a sense of pride and empowerment as she strives to create stronger communities while educating those who will one day lead them.    As CEO and Founder of PCK Consulting LLC, an educational leadership consulting group which was created to serve women of diverse backgrounds who aspire to serve and are currently serving in school leadership roles, she is committed to helping these leaders elevate their leadership “goals,” and increase their impact in schools.Realizing that there is much to learn from her own experiences and those of other dynamic female leaders who have come across her path, she created a blog and other social media platforms that are reflective of those golden nuggets. It is the desire and hope that other leaders who share a similar desire to create work/life balance will have a safe, honest platform in which to learn from and express their own personal journeys on how they manage to find harmony between their professional and personal lives.Jamilah incorporates and infuses a passion for authentic leadership by empowering others to create balance that is critical to good leadership and essential for a healthy organization.   In addition to becoming an Amazon Best Selling Co-Author for “Leading With Balance,Jamilah considers her greatest accomplishment to be a wife of 20 years to husband,Toussaint and mother to 4 wonderful boys and 1 girl, ranging from 25 to 3 years of age. She is a graduate of the prestigious Tuskegee University, Tuskegee Alabama, where she received two bachelor degrees in Early childhood and Elementary Education. She is also proud of her achievements in acquiring a Masters degree in Specific Learning Disabilities from Auburn University and Educational Leadership from University of Texas at Austin.

Chris Eady Chris is an award winning high school business teacher with nearly 30 years experience and a passion for student engagement and school connectedness. He is a perpetual student favorite and has received many recognitions from both his students and his peers. He has been named teacher of the year, he was the recipient of the golden apple award for educational excellence and has received the most influential teacher award.   Along with his many years as a teacher, Chris has worked as a teaching specialist in interdisciplinary learning and has been a curriculum developer in applied technology.  He has been an instructor in digital media, web development, marketing and economics and has served as the business department chair  from 2002 to the present. He has served as the Utah DECA Board President and was named the Utah DECA Advisor of the Year.

Jason Johnson Jason is a licensed school psychologist and has published research on resilience and student performance.  Jason is a passionate advocate for disadvantaged students and currently consults and trains educators across the nation as the director of training and research for the WhyTry organization. Jason is a thought leader on resilience education and has spoken at hundreds of conferences around the country. He has led successful implementations of all WhyTry programs and has pioneered trainings for clients in healthcare, corporate, and the US Military.