OFFERED TRAINING:  For Schools

We EQUIP Youth-Serving Professionals with Caring Learning Environments

Research tells us that a positive school learning and work climate is critical for student academic achievement, connection to school, and staff effectiveness. In order to help foster more positive learning environments, the Training Institute EQUIPs educators and youth with training and support to drive positive practices and behaviors, and develop sustainable programs.

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Changing the Norms! Promoting Positive Social Norms in Schools

• This training promotes positive norms and values such as kindness, respect, and caring while discouraging negative norms in school through suggested projects and activities. Students and staff will identify project ideas and formulate a plan through a process that nurtures a positive learning environment.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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Change of Heart: Creating a More Caring School Climate
All it takes is a Change of Heart! This research-based training, developed by the Search Institute, is conducted as a one-day retreat to help students, teachers, administrators and staff:

• create a more caring, supportive environment within the school,
• build strong, positive relationships among students and between students and staff,
• help members of the school community build developmental assets and foster improved learning.
• Time: 7 hrs

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Safe Places to Learn
This session(s) provides on going support and assistance as follow up to Change of Heart or as a stand alone session for groups of youth and adults. The group will develop an action plan to further the impact of the training and continue improvement in the individuals and school.

• Time: 1-7 sessions / 1-2 hrs.

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Flash Judgments
Based on the Flash Judgment program series, created by the Search Institute, participants in this session will:

• explore how we make biased and prejudiced judgments about others,
• reveal how these judgments play out in the physical and virtual worlds,
• examine how we make judgments to appreciate, tolerate or avoid others,
• discuss how these behaviors strongly influence the environments in which we live, work and learn.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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Barriers to Student Success
Common cultural assumptions about youth often get in the way of forming positive, influential relationships within the school. This session explores barriers that often impact how students treat each other, how they are treated by adults, how decisions are made, how policies are enforced, how disputes are handled and how schools are perceived in the community. Participants will:

• identify strategies for addressing barriers,
• explores activities to promote positive change for schools,
• learn how to improve the mental and emotional health and success of students.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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Healthy Happy Teachers
The key to a healthy learning environment is through happy teachers. This session helps teachers feel good about themselves and each other by providing tools and tips for boosting teacher morale.

• Time: 3 hrs.

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Building Developmental Assets in School Communities
Explore the connections between the Search Institute�s 40 Developmental Assets and student achievement! This session will help educators:

• identify how to build assets for each and every student,
• learn how to initiate, increase, and strengthen the asset-building efforts that already exists.
• Time: 6 hrs.

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Fostering Intercultural Understanding
This training explores different cultures that exist within the school environment. Participants will:

• share tools and resources that promote proven strategies to create safe and mutually respectful social environments for all students,
• identify strategies to prepare students to communicate and work effectively with people from different cultures.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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Putting Policy into Practice
Policies are often created that should result in a quality program. However, it is difficult to enforce these policies and the program suffers. This session helps administrators examine existing policies. Participants will:

• identify assets that are currently built into policies as well as any key gaps that currently exist,
• examine how policies are being built, and how this process can identify priority assets that need to be included,
• address how asset-enriched policies play out in practice and can impact the culture of the school,
• learn to utilize the 40 Developmental Assets approach in policy development.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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Bullying in Kentucky�s Secondary Schools: Where we are and where we go from here
Based on current research and a study conducted in four diverse secondary schools in Kentucky, this session provides a report of the current state of bullying behavior. Participants will:

• identify the characteristics, warning signs of bullying, consequences, and frequent locations of bullying,
• discuss evidenced-based intervention and prevention strategies to reduce bullying behavior.
• Time: 3 hrs.
• * This presentation is also available as Cyber-bullying in Kentucky�s secondary schools

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The Assessment of Bullying: A Whole-School Approach
This session addresses the importance of assessing bullying behavior and adult perceptions when implementing a school-wide bullying prevention and intervention program. Participants will:

• identify how to use the results of bullying assessments in your school or organization (strategies, policy, etc.),
• explore common characteristics of assessment tools and information to consider before developing or adopting a tool to assess bullying.
• Time: 3 hrs.
• *If requested, this workshop can be targeted to create an assessment tool for your school or organization.

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Adult Influences on Bullying: Prevention and Intervention
This session addresses the influence of adults on bullying prevention and intervention. An overview of bullying characteristics, consequences, and evidenced-based adult prevention and intervention strategies will be examined.

• Time: 3 hrs.

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The Growing Threat of Cyber-bullying
This training addresses the growing threat of cyber-bullying and helps educators understand how to recognize when a young person is being bullied. In this session, participants will:

• discuss the various forms of cyber-bullying,
• explore the technologies used in cyber-bullying, and means to prevent possible occurrences,
• gain insight into means of addressing this growing threat, through building awareness, policy development and assistance from support organizations,
• learn to recognize when a young person is being bullied,
• gain skills and tools to help victims cope.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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School Climate Goes Virtual
Outside influences impact school climate. But with the advent of the Web 2.0 environment that is always on � always connected, unedited and without boundaries � creating positive, proactive school climates is becoming increasingly difficult. Participants will:

• gain an understanding of how Web 2.0 has changed our world (and our schools),
• identify strategies to keep schools safe and focused on education,
• discuss state and national level resources from law enforcement, social services, mental health and education research.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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Teaching in a Virtual/Physical World
Students today don't just use technology, they live through it. In order to make the core content relevant and current, educators need to join students in the virtual realm and design educational content that takes advantage of the interactivity and reach technology offers. This training:

• introduces how Web 2.0 has changed our world,
• discusses why and how youth view Web 2.0 differently than adults,
• and provides an overview of methods to evaluate technology integration before it is launched.
• Time: 3 hrs.

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Signs of Suicide(SOS)
SOS suicide prevention and depression screening programs are designed for middle and high school students. The programs are nationally recognized, easily implemented and cost effective.

The SOS Programs teach students how to identify the symptoms of depression and sucidality in themselves or their friends and encourages help-seeking through use of the ACT technique (Acknowledge, Care, Tell).

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CyberSafeKY
Keep kids safe by taking charge of your organization or school's virtual life. Bring an CyberSafeKY event to your community! CyberSafeKY events are engaging and interactive multi-media presentations. Outcomes include:

• a comprehensive understanding of the Web 2.0 culture: how we got here and what we do now,
• increased knowledge of the differences between how youth and adults use technology,
• knowledge of how to identify what your child is doing online,
• youth and adults learn to make informed, educated decisions about personal choices, both online and off,
• awareness of ways to provide safe-guards for internet usage,
• access to continuously updated safety information through a menu of national and Kentucky specific resources and trainings,
• insight and awareness as to the permanency of online behavior.

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CyberSafeKY Professional Development
Professional trainings, tailored to specific audiences and professions, address the rapidly changing online environment and its impact on young people. Topics include:

• current Internet child safety laws,
• state and federal Internet polices,
• legal responsibilities,
• how the online community can affect organizational/school climate.
• Time: 3 - 6 hrs.

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CyberSafeKY School Assemblies
Educate, inform and empower Middle and High school students to make wise choices while surfing the net! CyberSafeKY assemblies are youth-oriented with particular focus on at-risk behaviors. Youth learn both the immediate and permanent impact of the choices they make.

• Time: 1 hr per assembly.

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CyberSafeKY Corporate Employee Education Workshops:
Learn the skills necessary to navigate the Internet safely and to keep young people safe. For any adult who cares about young people, this multi-media presentation includes:

• introduction to cyber-culture,
• dangers inherent online,
• strategies to keep kids safe both online and off.
• Time: 1 - 2 hrs.