Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Supports for Educators and Students

The challenges of this pandemic and the trauma we have all experienced, have 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 make plans for the transition back to post pandemic life, 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.  

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from these experts!

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.

Creating a lasting impact with grant resources

As we make plans for the transition back to post pandemic life, school districts and administrators are focusing on what we must do to address the social emotional needs of students and staff.  From federal,state and local governments there are  are many opportunities for funding and grant resources that are becoming available to help support educators deal with these challenges.  In this webinar we will discuss strategies to not just chase money but how to plan for implementation of those funds so they can have a lasting impact. With a difficult economy and projected budget shortfalls, there has never been a greater need for funding and grant resources to be applied to solving some of our biggest challenges.  Come join the discussion to learn about practical ways we can tap into these resources that can help us foster resilience in our students and staff today!

Why collaboration and connection are keys to a successful SEL roll out

Truly impactful initiatives require the involvement of many parts of our education systems working together, especially when the social emotional needs of students are concerned. Come listen to our panel of experts that have many years experience with successfully writing grants and understanding what grant organizations are looking for.  In this webinar you will hear them share how we can identify funding needs, look for ways to collaborate with community partners, establish a data driven or supported approach, and build support with school/organizational leadership. 

Panelists

Timothy D. Nolan Timothy D. Nolan, now in his 54th year in education, has retired from both the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati State, where he worked on the team that founded this two-year college. He has taught for thirty-six years in secondary and postsecondary institutions; served in many administrative positions including Vice President of Academics. As Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Tech Prep Consortium, he led that organization to earn millions of dollars in Federal and State grants.   He earned the 1990 State of Ohio College Teacher of the Year Award as well as numerous awards for research, publications, and service.  Most notably, he was the State of Ohio’s recipient of the 2005 Perkins Humanitarian Award for a life time of service to career technical education and its students.  Last year 2019, the Why Try Organization presented him with the “Resilience in Action Award” for exceptional contributions in advancing resilience in the community.   He currently serves schools in southwestern Ohio as an instructional coach for High Schools That Work (HSTW) of Southwest Ohio. He is licensed as a Trauma Response Care Specialist and serves on the Board of the Tristate Trauma Network.  Currently, he offers SEL (Social Emotional Learning) workshops with both an Equity and Trauma Informed focus. In 2003, he created the State of Ohio Biotechnology Curriculum through a collaborative community of learners’ approach.   On a personal note, both he and his wife, Peg, celebrated their 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2020. They are dedicated “Child Advocates” who were licensed as foster parents for 22 years where they cared for 60 “special needs” children awaiting adoption. He is the father of four and grandfather of eleven.

Dr. Nancy Surrett Gregg Dr. Gregg is a lifelong native of East Tennessee. During her career, she has served as an elementary classroom teacher, a kindergarten-8th grade school counselor, Project Director for multiple TRIO programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) and has taught at multiple institutions of higher education. She is currently Assistant Professor of Education at Carson-Newman University.  At UTK, Dr. Gregg worked with a variety of U. S. Department of Education grant projects where she managed multiple programs serving low-income/first generation students, wrote grant proposals, and provided professional development to teachers and schools across the state. She is a frequent presenter on experiential education and on strategies to support academic aspirations of at-risk students. She has been a contributing writer to multiple publications, including Finding Funding: Grantwriting From Start to Finish (5th Edition), 2008. Dr. Gregg also serves as a peer reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education discretionary grant competitions. Her specialty areas include multicultural education, educational partnerships, grant writing, and instructional strategies. Additionally, Dr. Gregg serves as a Site Reviewer with the Tennessee Department of Education, working as part of a team that reviews Education Preparation Programs and makes recommendations for their accreditation.

Jack Bareilles With nearly three decades of classroom and administrative experience in both urban and rural settings at the K-8 level (five years teaching a self-contained 7/8 combination class in Oakland, CA), and over 20 years as a high school AP US and European History teacher, US History teacher, English teacher and Dean of Students/Discipline Jack Bareilles brings a wealth of classroom and administrative experience to the education grant process. Since 2006 he has served as Northern Humboldt Union High School District Grants and Evaluation Administrator and has directed and evaluated nearly 100 state and federal grants for his school district, nearby districts and districts as diverse as Los Angeles Unified and the American Samoa Department of Education. Jack also serves as Northern Humboldt’s Foster and Homeless Youth Liaison, Career Technical Education and Indian Education Administrator and actively supports student mental health initiatives across the region. Jack holds a Masters in Social Science with an emphasis in US History, a California Administrative Credential, and teaching credentials in History/Social Science, English/Language Arts, Life Science, and Multiple Subjects and Career Technical Education.

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.

The focus on student mental health as we are coming out of the pandemic

The challenges of this pandemic and the trauma we have all experienced, have had a huge impact on both students and teachers. This trauma will likely cause a ripple effect of academic deficiencies and emotional challenges that could stretch stretch into the coming years.  As we make plans for the transition back to post pandemic life, teachers and administrators are focusing on what we must do to address the mental health an emotional wellness 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!

Advocating for mental health services for students

In this webinar our panel of education and mental health experts discuss topics like how to partner with community mental health resources, how SEL programs and strategies can help in supporting student mental health, how schools can more effectively partner with resources and help communities better advocate towards good mental health support, and tips for educators to be able to see warning signs in students that may be struggling. 

Panelists

Dr. Loretta Whitson EdD Dr. Whitson directs the California Association of School Counselors (CASC), a nonprofit state association that provides policy recommendations, guides schools towards linking school counseling to their overall mission, as well as leading school counselors in engaging in high caliber, research-based practices associated with school and student success. CASC is the largest state school counseling organization in the nation.  Whitson was instrumental in the founding CASC in 2000. She earned her Ed.D. in 2014 in Organizational Leadership from the University of LaVerne. She served as an Assistant Professor and Chair of LaVerne’s Educational Counseling Program from 2015-2017. Prior to receiving her doctorate, Whitson spent over 25 years as a school district administrator and school counselor in the Monrovia Unified School District, a district located approximately 15 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Tony Watkins MA LMFT Tony is a Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in Alabama and Kentucky and is an AAMFT clinical fellow and AAMFT approved clinical supervisor. Tony is the clinical director of the CU Well Counseling Center, the outpatient practice of the masters in Marriage and Family Therapy program at Campbellsville University. Tony utilizes his 19-plus years of clinical experience providing support for clients with suicidal ideation, couples with conflicted relationships, adolescents and adults with varying relationship, mental health and substance abuse disorders and children with behavioral problems. As a trainer and consultant, Tony is a Master Trainer for Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) and Mental Health First Aid (adult and youth). He has provided AMSR training to thousands of mental health professionals and as a Master Trainer and provides T4T’s to train new trainers. As a partner in the continuing education training company Interactive CE Training, Tony provides CE training on a wide variety of mental health professional topics. Tony consults with communities and organizations to create suicide-safer communities and provides training for professionals and non-professionals across the county.

Jason Johnson EdS 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.

The importance of student services in this critical time

The challenges of this pandemic and the trauma we have all experienced, has had a huge impact on both students and teachers alike!  Many believe this trauma will likely cause a ripple effect of academic deficiencies that will stretch into the coming years.  As we make plans for the transition back to post pandemic life, school districts and administrators are focusing on what we must do to address this trauma and meet the social emotional needs of students.  There has never been a greater push for well equipped student services personnel that can lead the way.  Their role will be key in helping schools to foster resilience in students and staff during these difficult times!

Fostering a resilient school culture

In this webinar we share practical examples how student/pupil services personnel can help their schools prioritize social emotional needs of students and provide tools and strategies that increase resilience. Listen as our panel of experts discuss how to these strategies can help students that are struggling emotionally and lacking motivation, and what we can do to help them cope and find ways to thrive in the future.   

 

Panelists

Dr. Christopher Pugliese Dr. Pugliese practices servant leadership. In addition to his role as Director of Pupil Services, he is a Level I Google Certified Educator, a Center for Supportive Relationships-Certified Relational Skills Coach, a NASP-certified PREPaRE Trainer and a member of the Trauma Informed Education Coalition. He completed his doctoral research on the influence of teacher-student relationships on teacher wellbeing and he is committed to implementing the findings to improve relationships and wellbeing in schools. Chris has presented at many state and national conferences. Since 2017, he has been a featured speaker in the Introduction to Teaching undergraduate course at Neumann University and he has contributed to articles published in ASCD Express and Pennsylvania Teacher Educator. In addition to his doctoral degree from Neumann University, Chris also holds superintendent, principal K-12 and social studies teaching certificates. He completed his B.A. and his M.A. degrees (both in History) at St. Joseph’s University and Brown University, respectively. Chris and his wife have three children and three grandchildren.

Larrissa Henderson Ed.D Dr. Henderson, currently serves and the National Association of Pupil Services Administrators (NAPSA) President She is the director of pupil services in Oak Ridge School District in Oak Ridge, TN She wears a lot of very different hats from attendance, discipline, food services, foster care, homeless, migrant, immigrants, ELL, school nurses, court liaison, Title IX coordinator, Title VI, and Title III. She calls pupil services the “customer service department for the school district.” Dr. Henderson feels that the most rewarding aspect of her job is working with and helping students and their families. Her day changes hourly and the change can be overwhelming, but she enjoys a good challenge every now and then.

Deidre Parsons Deidre is currently the president elect of the National Association of Pupil Services Administrators (NAPSA).  She began her educational career as a sub and has served in almost every role possible in a school including as a secretary, cook, classroom aid and as a custodian.  While working as a custodian, she earned her teaching degree. She then taught resource and supported an inclusion schedule for special education students.  Deidre then went on to complete her masters degree in administration from Ashland University and served as an assistant principal for a year and a principal for 5 years, before settling in to her current job as the director of student services for Barberton City Schools in Barberton, OH.

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 (SEL) 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 make plans for the transition back to post pandemic life, 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.