Life Skills

Support the growth of your students with meaningful, effective social-emotional learning. You’ll engage in deep reflection and discover ways to refine instruction, lesson planning, and assessment; promote whole-child development; and foster a productive learning environment for all.

Create safe classrooms where students are empowered to build resilience, cope with traumatic experiences, and achieve at high levels. Learn how to cultivate a trauma-informed classroom environment and utilize classroom management strategies to encourage positive learning experiences for trauma-impacted students.

Dive deep into the what and how of structured SELf-questioning—a powerful metacognitive strategy you can use to support students academically, socially, and emotionally.

Discover how to develop a balanced system of schooling that fosters consciousness, compassion, confidence, courage, and community as a vehicle for student success and academic achievement. Use assessment tools like the S-CCATE (School Compassionate Culture Analytic Tool for Educators) in a conscious leadership role.

Use the academic tasks students already do for social-emotional learning. Integrate student values into academic instruction and make learning meaningful for students. This book will guide teachers in helping students connect their work to their values, empowering them to redefine success.

Build compassionate classrooms and mindful schools that prioritize both learning and well-being. Based on the latest neuroscience research, this book provides mindfulness exercises as well as trauma-informed practices for creating positive learning environments.

Discover practical social-emotional learning tools that empower students to bring their own values to their schoolwork and relationships.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly shaping the future of education, yet without critical engagement, it risks reinforcing systemic biases and widening technological inequities. Dr. Stacie Chana, author of Experimenting With AI: Activities, Discussions, and Prompts for the Classroom and Beyond, empowers educational leaders to approach AI with a lens of equity and cultural responsiveness, ensuring that all learners are protected and informed about the challenges and opportunities AI presents. Participants will explore practical strategies for identifying AI bias, implementing responsible AI-driven decision making, and developing policies that support ethical AI integration. This session will equip leaders with the knowledge needed to critically assess AI tools, advocate for fair and just technology use in schools, and guide students in becoming discerning users of AI.

Michele A. Herold has been an integrated preschool teacher in the Metuchen School District in New Jersey since 2018. Her educational philosophy is to create an uplifting, compassionate, and nurturing classroom that encourages confidence, kindness, and love for learning.

Katie Upshaw is a preschool special education teacher in the Metuchen School District in New Jersey. Additionally, she also serves as a union representative, chairs the school leadership team, and engages in district committees.