March 2023 Sessions

Recordings will be available in April 2023.

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in these sessions do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Jackson County Intermediate School District administration. 

Session Title: 504s

Presenter: Lisa Swem

Session Description: Section 504 prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities. Session attendees will learn about student eligibility for a 504 plan as well as staff responsibilities to implement the plan. Because this federal non-discrimination law reaches well beyond the classroom, this session will also address Section 504 impact on extracurricular activities as well as discipline and harassment.

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Trauma Training

Presenter: Zoe Lyons and Bob Powell

Session Description: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood. ACEs can include violence, abuse, and growing up in a family with mental health or substance use problems. Toxic stress from ACEs can change brain development and affect how the body responds to stress. ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood. However, ACEs can be prevented.

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: An Educator’s Guide to 5D+: The Basics: What Every Teacher Should Know

Presenter: Jeff Punches

Session Description: Educators will gain a better understanding of the 5D+ process including the year long inquiry process.  A majority of the presentation will focus on 5D indicators that are important to teaching.  Participants will walk away with real life examples of what these indicators look like in a k-12 classroom setting.  Handouts and resources will be available for use.

Audience: All Grade Levels

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Attributes:  How Foundational Skills Support Content Level Development

Presenter: Jean Allison

Session Description: Teachers Will: Reflect on current practice to determine which elements of their individual practice can be adjusted to support children's capacity to identify specific attributes. Links will be made to developmentally appropriate curriculum and child assessment.

Audience: Preschool

Link to Recorded Session: An NGSS Refresher

Session Title: Avoid Burnout: How to Manage Stress in an Education Setting

Presenter: Angela Turner, Kathleen Hart

Session Description: You will learn research-based strategies to stay well and energized while doing what you love (even though it can be incredibly stressful). You will learn more about stress, your  responses to it and you will be encouraged to develop a personal plan to avoid burnout. 

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Bhworks Referral Training and Q&A

Presenter: Becca Hurst

Session Description: During this interactive session, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the new virtual referral platform used countywide by our schools and 31n providers to streamline mental health care for students. This session is intended to be a training on how to make referrals and an open discussion about any questions you might have on what bhworks is, why we are using it and an opportunity to ask any technical questions you might have as you begin using the platform.

Audience: All grade levels and support staff

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Building Classroom Leaders Through Relationships

Presenter: Felicia Thornton

Session Description: Classrooms are diverse and so are the students that fill those rooms. However, we all have one thing in common. Connection. With a variety of students comes a variety of needs, personalities, and ways to build relationship. We will discuss the characteristics of being a leader in the classroom and how we can foster relationships that produce growth beyond academics. 

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Data Collection and Analysis

Presenter: Wendy Bell

Session Description: This session will allow participants to explore the concept of data collection and analysis when working with preschool children. Participants will explore ways to collect data with children, ways to represent that data, and ways to compare the data in order to draw conclusions about the data as a whole.Participants will explore the mathematical concepts associated with data collection and analysis.

Audience: Preschool

Link to Recorded Session:

Session Title: Structuring the Basicas for Your Literacy Block 

Presenter: Amy Reynolds and Darcy Heselschwerdt 

Session Description: This session is designed for K-2 teachers who are looking to refine their management systems during their literacy block.  This is geared for teachers who would like to make changes to their literacy block in the upcoming school year.  We will share ideas for physical space, routines, schedules, transitions, and management. Participants will also be able to collaborate and share their own experiences for managing literacy expectations.

Audience: Early Elementary

Link to Recorded Session: 

Session Title: Education in the Age of Distraction

Presenter: Max Stossel

Session Description: Max will briefly outline the way technology is designed to be manipulative & distracting, give an overview of the most common objections to getting smartphones out of schools + their rebuttals,, share some research and resources co-designed between experts and teenagers to have better conversations about how social media is impacting lives/relationships, and facilitate an open discussion on the Education in the Age of Distraction.

Audience: Middle School, High School, Administrators/School Leadership, Teacher/Educator, Support Staff/Paraprofessional

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title: Embracing Mental Health: Reducing Stigma and Supporting Individuals with Mental Health Challenges 

Presenter: Christopher St. Clair and Kelly Bigg

Session Description: This training is intended to build confidence and competence in navigating a conversation with an individual that is experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis. The presentation brings awareness to mental health by discussing stigma, barriers to accessing services, and risk factors. Suicide crises will also be specifically discussed and participants will learn how to approach and communicate with the individual to maintain safety and encourage appropriate professional help. 

Audience: All grade levels

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Essential Instructional Practices in Early Mathematics K-3

Presenter: Kait Mashio

Session Description: What are the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Mathematics and how do they apply to me?

In this hour session, participants will be introduced to the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Mathematics and have a chance to explore how they relate in their K-3 classrooms.

Audience: Math K-3

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: From a Teen POV - Student Panel

Presenter: Jasmine Isaac

Session Description: This session will be in the format of a panel, with high school students from both traditional and non-traditional schools throughout Jackson Co. Students will share their thoughts and opinions on a variety of questions on topics such as: mental health, parent/teacher communication, school curriculums, sex education, and peer pressure, in efforts to give educators and school admin and opportunity to see the world from a teen's point of view.

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Focusing on Statistics

Presenter: William Montgomery

Session Description: Join us as we discuss the role statistics can play in your traditional math class. We will look at a number of traditional math topics and statistical topics that complement each other to make the integration of statistical ideas into your instruction more efficient. This session is primarily for a middle school math or high school algebra or geometry teacher looking for ways to incorporate more statistics and probability concepts into their instruction.

Audience: Middle School, High School, Teacher/Educator

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title:  Foster Care 101

Presenter: Tonya Kendra and Vicy Henry 

Session Description: Gain a better understanding of how children enter foster care.  Learn about the legal process of foster care. Gain an understanding of rights of birth parents while children are in foster care

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title: Interactive Read Alouds in the Preschool Classroom

Presenter: Holly Nelson

Session Description: In this session we will work together to create fun and interactive Read Alouds.  Participants will be using appropriate read aloud books to explore emergent reading processes and supports. As well as building literacy skills through the use of a read aloud in the classroom.

Audience: Preschool

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Introduction to the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment

Presenter: Cathy Brubaker

Session Description: Introduction to the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment tool (DECA) for preschool teachers.  We will look into how to get started in assessing a child in your classroom.  Taking a look at risk factors and protective factors and how they play a role in resilience in young children and ourselves. 

Audience: Preschool

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title: Let's Talk: Classroom Discussion Strategies

Presenter: William Montgomery

Session Description: This session will primarily focus on strategies to engage your students in classroom discussions. We will look at different strategies that can support your students in alignment with specific goals for the discussion, such as eliciting ideas, sensemaking of new information, connecting learning activities to big ideas, as well as evidence-based explanations. Those who attend this session should look forward to a lively discussion as well as taking back some talk moves you can use tomorrow in your classroom.

Audience: Late Elementary, Middle School, High School, Administrators/School Leadership, Community Partner/Member, Teacher/Educator

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title: LifeWays Crisis Services: Services Offered and Accessing Care

Presenter: Jessica Tucelli 

Session Description: Participants can expect to learn about various level of care options for individuals in crisis, both within LifeWays network and in the community in general. Included is how to access emergent services, how to seek a mental health petition, level of care options, and how to access various resources for mental health care. 

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Integrating Science Practices into the Science Classroom

Presenter: William Montgomery

Session Description: For the first few years of NGSS implementation, general science support has been mainly focused on the scientific practices and the pedagogical shifts needed for their instruction. How are your activities and labs holding up? Are you still unsure how to “open” up your existing lab activities for your students to more fully engage with the science practices? Join us to examine a few traditional lab activities that have been adapted to integrate more of the SEPs of the NGSS and go home with a few new ideas to try in your own classroom.

Audience:  Middle School, High, Teacher/Educator

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: McKinney Vento 101

Presenter: Kim Brown, Karen Roy and Irma Lopez-Barajas

Session Description: Session will cover McKinney-Vento Basic and Law, New Liaison roles and responsibilities, Title I allocations and allowances vs. MV.  This session will guide decision making for allowable/approvable expenses.  Finally, this session will cover upcoming events, necessary trainings and scheduled Drop-In sessions.  This session will be designed to shift focus to impacting system change with a goal of ending homelessness and housing instability.

Audience: All grade levels, Administrators/School Leadership, GSRP Program Directors, Support Staff/Paraprofessional, McKinney Vento Liaisons

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Mandated Reporter Training

Presenter: Brittany Tyluki 

Session Description: This will be a training on Mandated Reporting, what to look for and how to report abuse or neglect. 

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title: PBIS and CICO: Implementing Interventions that Build Relationships and Develop Positive Culture

Presenter: Jared Cole

Session Description: During this session, PBIS will be discussed and actionable ideas will be presented to intervene with students at all three tiers. A focus on Tier 2, and more specifically, Check-In/Check-Out (CICO), will be discussed, with ideas on how to develop and implement this intervention to help build positive relationships in your building. By the presentation's end, participants will have concrete steps to begin implementing a PBIS model and will have the tools needed to also begin implementing a CICO program with fidelity. 

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Physical Education Workshop (In-Person)

Presenter: Eric Swihart

Session Description: Participants will 

…learn about Social Media impacts on teens and school culture.

…learn how to access PE and Health-related supplies and equipment from the Wellness Library.

…learn how to access the Hands-only CPR kits to ensure students are meeting the graduation requirement.

…engage in physical education activities to support effective instruction, per CATCH framework.

…engage in activities to learn how to teach tennis indoors and outdoors.

…learn how to request USTA sponsorship and receive free tennis equipment to teach the sport in physical education.

Audience: All Grade Levels

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Playing Sounds Inside Words in the Preschool Classroom

Presenter: Karyn Head

Session Description: In this session, we will focus on developing fun and engaging activities rhyming and alliteration concepts. Participants will collaborate to develop sounds within language 

Audience: Preschool Staff and Leaders

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Plugging in to the Real Power Source: Engaging Student Voice 

Presenter: Kelsea Jabkiewicz and Janelle Buchler

Session Description: Join Kelsea and Janelle for a rich conversation and learning opportunity around the power of partnering with students to increase their involvement and impact change in our classrooms, schools and community. In this session you will grow in your understanding of your own "why" behind student engagement; learn best practice strategies to connect with children and youth; network with other educators to learn what they are doing to foster partnership; and walk away with practical resources and tools you can use to capture student voices and integrate their thinking and perspectives into your work.

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Simple Classroom Strategies & Interventions to Manage Behavior in the Classroom 

Presenter: Jessica Bucklin

Session Description: In this session, we will discuss a set of strategies that encourage appropriate behavior by instructing what is expected, communicating positive examples, giving specific feedback, and motivating students with reinforcers designed to promote a growth mindset and community inclusion. We will then discuss simple strategies that vary in intensity for responding to inappropriate behavior in the classroom. We will also have a brief overview of classroom interventions with easy to use data tracking tools.

Audience: Elementary, Middle School, Teacher/Educator and Support Staff

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title: TechTrek: Outdoor Discovery 

Presenter: Paul Smith, Kellie DeLosSantos and Jeanelle Wonders

Session Description: Come and join us at Camp McGregor for a true adventure! Participants will explore ways in which to use technology in the classroom while also exploring the outdoors. Don't miss this opportunity to leave with a wealth of new ideas to use technology in the classroom. Together we can unlock the power of technology in the great outdoors. 

Audience: All Grade Levels

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title:  The Value of Shared Reading

Presenter: Darcy Heselschwerdt and Amy Reynolds

Session Description: This session is designed as an overview for K-2 teachers who are looking to reach all of their readers and boost reading engagement.  Teachers will learn about the basic components of a shared reading lesson, how to select texts, identify important materials, and how to use shared reading as a scaffold to independent reading.                       

Audience: Early Elementary

Link to Recorded Session


Session Title: Tips for working with Tough Parents

Presenter: Tonya Kendra and Frances Adams

Session Description: In this session we will be exploring tips and ways to handle difficult parents.  The presenters will be using information from the book by Suzanne Capek Tingley, How to Handle Difficult Parents: A Teacher's Survival Guide.  We will add some social work lens on the topic.  

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session:

Session Title: Tools from MTSS

Presenter: Jessica Bucklin and Tonya Kendra

Session Description: We will be looking at tools and interventions for Tiers 1 and 2 for behavioral support. Copies of the forms and sheets which are supporting our process will be shared. 

Audience: Middle School, Administrators, GSRP, Support Staff

Link to Recorded Session 

Session Title: Trauma and a Path Toward Resilience

Presenter: Angela Turner, Kathleen Hart

Session Description: This session will provide a foundational understand of the effects of trauma and provide some practical steps toward resilience.

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session


Session Title: Understanding and Connecting with Challenging Teenagers

Presenter: Kelly Sheppard and John Midgley

Session Description: Teenagers are a unique and often contradictory group. They strive for individuality yet crave acceptance by their peers. They can act like they know everything and yet lack experience. They may feel invincible and yet are often insecure. Some teenagers may thrive on challenging authority and a few may be self-destructive.  Going through a pandemic has added a new level of navigation for teenagers and has resulted in an increase of challenges within the classroom and school environment.

Trying to understand and connect with teenagers is not easy.   

In this session we will explore the struggles teenagers face and provide you with some tips and tools to successfully engage and connect with challenging teenagers.

Audience: Secondary, Administration, Community Partners, Support Staff

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: USTA/Tennis in PE Classes

Presenter: Sydney Whitfield

Session Description: I will have information for all PE teachers to receive free tennis equipment/curriculum. We will go over how to teach tennis in a PE class. 

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Vocabulary in the Grades 3-8 ELA Classroom

Presenter: Sandy White

Session Description: Building Literacy Vocabulary through Read Aloud and Linguistic Sorts

Audience: Late Elementary and Middle School

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: What's the Deal with MSV (meaning, structure and visual)?

Presenter: Meaghan McCormick

Session Description: The letters MSV stand for meaning, structure, and visual, and recent discussions of early reading instruction refer to them as the ‘three cueing systems.’  Too often the descriptions of MSV are incorrect. In this session, participants will understand the role of these sources of information a framework for analyzing errors to understand children’s reading.

Audience: Early Elementary

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: We can do hard things: culturally responsive strategies for everyone

Presenter: Dr. Precios Armstrong

Session Description: General education and special education students in American P-12 schools are becoming increasingly more diverse as racial/ethnic group representation expands. Culturally responsive teaching strategies provide an innovative approach to support ALL students.  They are a strategic approach that honors the whole child. During this one-hour workshop participants will explore the teacher-student relationship and be armed with essential strategies to foster improved rapport and outcomes.   

Audience: Everyone

Link to Recorded Session

Session Title: Better conversations about Tech and Student Life

Presenter: Max Stossel

Session Description: “We’ve Been Sneaking Into Your Brains”  Is a presentation for students in the modern age. Max illustrates some of the specific ways technology is designed to be addictive & distracting, provides tools to help combat these designs, and opens up for a much needed discussion among peers about the impact of phones & social media on our lives. 

Audience:Middle School, High School, Teacher/Educator, Administrators, Support Staff

Link to Recorded Session