REACH has been excited to partner with the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) to deliver professional development webinars to hundreds of educators, clinicians, and school administrators from across the Commonwealth. In May and July, Director of Prevention Programs, Jessica Teperow, delivered a 2 hour webinar entitled, “Fostering Healing and Connection During and After COVID19” that reached close to 500 participants. In the coming academic year REACH is thrilled to be offering a ten hour course as well, as an additional 2 hour webinar through this partnership. Dates and descriptions for the upcoming opportunities are detailed below. To register or learn more about course offerings through MPY, click here. REACH’s prevention staff can also offer these and other professional development opportunities to individual schools and youth-serving organization. Contact Jessica at Jessica@reachma.org to learn more.
Fostering Healthy Relationships in the Classroom and Beyond
This 10-hour course will allow participants to deepen their understanding of trauma and domestic violence and the impact on child development. Sessions will alternate between workshops that focus on building content knowledge and workshops that are strategy focused and foster skill building. It will conclude with a session focused on the impact of trauma-exposure on teachers, counselors, and administrators and strategies for caring for ourselves and creating school environments and structures that are conducive for healing for every adult, child, and family.
Dates: November 9, 16, 23, 30, December 7, 2020
Session One: Introduction to Trauma and Child Exposure to Domestic Violence
Many of our students have been exposed to trauma before ever entering our classroom. When children experience or are exposed to domestic violence and other forms of trauma, it can have a dramatic impact on their brain development. Every child has the incredible capacity to heal, and every child deserves a learning environment that fosters healing and resilience. This workshop will focus on the impact of child exposure to domestic violence and other forms of trauma, to help us better understand the behaviors a traumatized child may exhibit in the classroom and develop strategies to offer support.
Session Two: Strategies for Creating Trauma-Sensitive Classrooms
Children’s experience with trauma can interfere significantly with learning and behavior at school. For many students, school may be the only place a child feels safe, and therefore serves as a critical system of support for children. Administrators, teachers, and staff can help reduce the effects of trauma on children by recognizing trauma responses, accommodating and responding to traumatized students within the classroom, and referring children to outside professionals when necessary. In this strand, participants will develop skills to build positive, trusting relationships with students and tools to create a trauma-informed environment that fosters resiliency.
Session Three: An introduction to teen dating violence and how to respond to disclosures
Teen Dating Violence, while incredibly pervasive, is often shrouded in secrecy and shame. Teens who are experiencing dating violence are often hesitant to seek support from an adult, and instead turn to their peers and social media for information and guidance. In this workshop, program participants will receive information and skills to recognize, respond, and support youth experiencing relationship abuse. Learn about common behavioral indicators of dating violence, health effects, and tools to assist youth after disclosures of abuse.
Session Four: Bringing Healthy Relationship Education into the Classroom
In this session, we will explore adult and teen perceptions of teen dating violence, discuss messages and barriers that uniquely impact youth relationships, and provide strategies to address these barriers when talking with teens. We will offer strategies for opening up the conversation and engaging teens in thinking critically about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Participants will leave with tools for responding to difficult questions, as well as several interactive activities they can facilitate with their students. Participants will learn techniques to create 2-way discussions about values, boundaries, and your role in supporting their relationship development.
Session Five: Caring for Ourselves is Caring for Our Students
Every day, educators bear witness to the impacts of trauma in their classroom. Young people share their stories with us through behaviors (acting out, withdrawing, overachieving), attitudes (angry, distracted, anxious), and their own words. We care deeply about our students and creating a safe and supportive learning environment. As teachers, we also have our own stories and our own pain- both past and present. The goal of this workshop is to create a space to acknowledge the cumulative toll bearing witness to trauma can have on us, and develop strategies to care for ourselves and support one another in doing this important and impactful work.
2 hour Workshop Offerings:
Fostering Healing and Connection During and After COVID19
COVID19 has had an impact on each of us, individually and collectively. For children and adults living in abusive homes, sheltering in place can have devastating effects physically, emotionally, and psychologically. This training will offer strategies to support students, colleagues, and others who have been impacted by domestic violence.
Date: July 21, 2020
Caring for Ourselves is Caring for Our Students
Every day, educators bear witness to the impacts of trauma in their classroom. Young people share their stories with us through behaviors (acting out, withdrawing, overachieving), attitudes (angry, distracted, anxious), and their own words. We care deeply about our students and creating a safe and supportive learning environment. As teachers, we also have our own stories and our own pain- both past and present. The goal of this workshop is to create a space to acknowledge the cumulative toll bearing witness to trauma can have on us, and develop strategies to care for ourselves and support one another in doing this important and impactful work.
Date: January 27th, 2021
