“Kids These Days”

Morning Session— Paper Tigers

We’ll begin the day with a viewing of the award-winning documentary Paper Tigers, which follows the journey of Lincoln Alternative High School in Walla Walla, Washington. The film chronicles a powerful transformation in how the school approaches discipline and student relationships through a trauma-informed lens.

Through the stories of six remarkable students—and the educators who stand beside them—the documentary illuminates how understanding and compassion can break generational cycles of poverty, violence, and despair. Paper Tigers vividly demonstrates the profound impact of trauma on the developing brain, the power of connection, and the difference that caring adults can make when they choose to treat rather than judge.

Afternoon Session: Training & Collaborative Discussion

Following the film, participants will engage in an interactive workshop exploring trauma-informed and trauma-restorative practices designed to meet the needs of today’s students—“kids these days.”

Together, we will:

• Examine the underlying factors contributing to high suspension, expulsion, and dropout rates.

• Explore evidence-based strategies to regulate before we educate, emphasizing connection as the foundation for learning.

• Identify practical tools for building relationships that foster safety, belonging, and engagement—particularly with grades 7-12.

• Discuss how educators’ own regulation and presence directly shape classroom climate and student outcomes.

• Develop actionable ways to create cultures of regulation and support within classrooms and across school systems.

• Strengthen the web of supports that help students not only attend but thrive and graduate.

This session blends reflection, discussion, and skill-building to equip educators, counselors, and support staff with tools that work in real-world classrooms—grounded in compassion, neuroscience, and hope.

Stacy G. York Nation, LCSW

Stacy has worked with families for over 20 years. Her passion lies with working with the "tough" kids and their families. She has intense training in trauma-informed practices and excels at providing real-life, applicable strategies to parents, educators, and mental health professionals. 

She wears multiple hats: international speaker, published author, clinician, Service Member, mother, sister, daughter, friend, co-parent with ex-husband. The most important hat I wear: HUMAN.

Stacy earned a Bachelor's in Science Degree in Psychology Education from Rocky Mountain College and completed a Master's in Social Work through Walla Walla University.

She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Behavior Health Officer in the Wyoming Army National Guard, and is a Certified Phase II Clinician in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. 

She splits time living in Colorado and Wyoming with her husband, two teens, and two pupperoos. 

A thorough presentation of positive behavioral supports and interventions in a variety of school environments will be presented to conference attendees. Discussion will center around types of behaviors; task avoidance, escape motivated, attention seeking, behaviors that produce sensory consequences, and the role motivation plays in behavioral success in many settings. Screen addiction consequences and behaviors.  The audience will be able to apply the information presented through videos, activities, and examples of how to set up positive plans for the students in a variety of environmental settings immediately in their respective situations. The training will also contain discussions about setting limits that work and the application of positive interventions in the regular education setting.  We will examine the common pitfalls that sabotage behavioral intervention plans and what to avoid when wanting to make significant behavioral changes. Discussions of how to implement 504 accommodations in a regular education setting will be discussed. 

Shawna M. Heiser, MS, BCBA

Founder, Special Learning 1-ON-1, LLC

Shawna Heiser, MS, BCBA, is the founder of Special Learning 1-ON-1, LLC, a family-centered practice dedicated to supporting individuals with diverse needs and their families since 1994. With extensive experience in behavioral counseling, Shawna specializes in working with children, adolescents, and young adults with behavioral, emotional, communication, and developmental challenges.

She has trained under five of the nation’s leading autism programs and methodologies and is both board-certified and licensed at the state and federal levels as a behavior analyst. In addition to maintaining a private practice in Bozeman, Shawna serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Montana State University, where she has been teaching since 2002. She is also a frequent presenter across the Northwest, sharing expertise in positive behavioral supports and interventions.

A proud Montana State alumna, Shawna earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at MSU in the 1990s and has remained deeply connected to the university ever since. Guided by the belief that “Every Child Deserves an Opportunity for Independence,” she is committed to empowering families and fostering lifelong skills for success.

This workshop introduces educators to the theory,structure and focus of Number Talks.  Participants will learn how Number Talks can be a valuable classroom routine in which students are making sense of mathematics, developing efficient computation strategies, and communicating their reasoning and solutions.  Participants will learn the key components of Number Talks and understand the importance of each.  Throughout the day, we will learn how to scribe student strategies that emphasize the important mathematical ideas.  

This training is directly related to improving computational fluency and number sense. This workshop is designed to help teachers:

• learn how to effectively implement Number Talks into their classroom instruction as a 5-20 minute routine 3-5 days a week.

• learn key components of Number Talks

• understand how to help students develop efficient computation strategies

• strengthen their own understanding of the various strategies

• how to respectfully scribe student thinking and strategies for solving during a Number Talk

Number Talks Agenda

This full-day workshop introduces K-5 educators to the theory, structure and focus of Number Talks.  Participants will learn how Number Talks can be a valuable classroom routine in which students are making sense of mathematics, developing efficient computation strategies, and communicating their reasoning and solutions.  Participants will learn the key components of Number Talks and understand the importance of each.  Throughout the day, we will learn strategies, instructional moves to encourage student discourse, and  how to scribe strategies that emphasize the important mathematical ideas.  

Agenda: 8:30 - 3:30

Introduction, Norms, and Overview

Preparing for Number Talks

Using Models & Tools to Anchor Student Strategies: Dot Images & Ten-Frames

Lunch

Using Tools to Anchor Student Strategies: Hundred Charts & Open Number Lines

Examining Common Strategies

Scribing Students’ Responses

Plan for Implementing Number Talks

Closing & Reflection

Becky Berg is an educator and professional development presenter from Billings.  

Books referenced  

Days 1-2  

Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching (What Works for Special-Needs Learners) Illustrated Edition by Anita L. Archer (Author), Charles A. Hughes (Author)

https://tinyurl.com/2yudba9h

Day 3 No book

Day 4

The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects 1st Edition

by Joan Sedita M.Ed. (Author), Jan Hasbrouck Ph.D. (Foreword)

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Rope-Framework-Explicit-Instruction/dp/1681255898

GENEVIEVE THOMAS

​With nearly two decades of experience in the education sector, Genevieve Thomas is School Services of Montana's brand new Director of Professional Learning. She has also served as a special education teacher, literacy specialist, teacher coach, school psychologist, and special education administrator. She holds graduate degrees in both Special Education and School Psychology from Loyola Marymount University and is currently a doctoral student in the Reading Science Department at Mount St Joseph University. 

Genevieve is passionate about partnering with schools to implement best practices for students with diverse learning needs, evidence-based literacy instruction and intervention, and multi-tiered systems of support. She supports teachers and schools across these areas through the development and implementation of professional learning opportunities, side-by-side coaching, and system-level consultation work. She is particularly skilled at collaborative analysis of data to inform instructional decisions for both the core educational program and academic and social-emotional interventions and supports.​

Areas of Expertise: Special Education; Literacy Instruction and Intervention; Dyslexia; Multiple-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)