Point Break Workshops: A Wave of Change on High School Campuses
Teddi Pettee, Point Break Director, and Anthony Maiden, Post-Release/Anger Management Counseling, Campus Life, CA

The Point Break program is designed to build resilient character traits in junior and senior high school students. Its purpose is to help students take responsibility for their words and actions, and choose behaviors that show compassion and respect. Attendees will participate in a number of activities taken directly from the Point Break workshop in order to gain an understanding of what students experience. Marketing session for a great program; funding options discussed.

Strand: Safe Schools, NEW!, Marketing Session
Grade Level: 7–12

Empowering Bystanders: Challenging Schools and Teens to Stand Up to Bullying and Violence
Rick Phillips, Executive Director, and Sally Fleishmann Ember, Ed.D., Outreach Coordinator, Community Matters, CA

Students see and know things adults don’t, and can intervene in ways adults can’t. Come learn about a research-based, field-tested model for engaging students as Safe School Ambassadors—socially influential students who notice cruelty and violence, use powerful nonviolent communication and intervention skills to work with their peers to prevent and stop such acts, and create a campus where all feel welcome and can perform at their best.

Strand: Safe Schools
Grade Level: K–12

Mindfully Resolving Conflict: Facilitation Training for Diversity Issues
Rainbow Markell, Diversity Trainer

This experiential professional development workshop involves discussion, role play, and training vignettes/exercises designed to build skills in facilitating community diversity. Participants enhance their visual and auditory acuity by observing keywords, intent and impact, and nonverbal messages inherent in communication, as well as nuances of multicultural communication. They learn conflict resolution skills, replacing adversarial/defensive statements with culturally receptive responses; and skills to train others in group process, conflict mediation, and a variety of cross-cultural communication techniques.

Strand: Safe Schools, NEW!, Marketing Session
Grade Level: K–12

Proactive Solutions to Address Bullying and Reclaim your School
John Vandenburg, Coordinator of Student Support, Murrieta Valley USD Support Center, CA

This session looks at bullying through the lens of youth development and provides practical strategies to address aggressive behavior in youth from a strength-based perspective. This session will introduce you to proactive student-centered strategies that can help parents, teachers, and the whole school community reclaim their school and create a positive place for all students to thrive.

Strand: Safe Schools, NEW!
Grade Level: K–12

How to Identify Hate-Motivated Youth Gangs in Your School so You Can Prevent Violence
Terry Wilson, Detective Constable, New Westminster Police Service, DVRT and Hate Crime Unit, Canada

Hate-motivated crimes are on the rise, on the streets and in the schoolyard. There are haters all around us, of all ages, races, and genders. The effects of these crimes not only devastate victims but can cripple an entire student community with fear. This riveting and informative seminar will help school principals, teachers, and counselors accurately identify a hate-motivated incident, and will arm them with the skills they need to respond quickly, safely, and effectively.

Strand: Safe Schools, NEW!
Grade Level: K–12

The Power of Video to Open Minds and Hearts: Using Gay Youth to Educate Your Faculty
Pam Walton, Producer/Former High School Teacher, Pam Walton Productions, CA

This workshop for secondary school educators will present the groundbreaking Gay Youth, newly released on DVD. Gay Youth is especially effective as a teacher in-service training tool that can sensitize faculty to an issue too often ignored. The workshop will include specific strategies for reaching out to students, parents, and administrators, as well as time for attendees to share their experiences. Copies of Gay Youth and its 16-page study guide will be available for purchase.

Strand: Safe Schools
Grade Level: 9–12

Changing the Odds: Practical School-Wide Strategies that Reduce Youth Violence, Aggressive Behavior, and Bullying on Campus
Mark Katz, Ph.D.

We will review common risks and adversities that place children and youth at serious risk for chronic school failure, bullying, and aggressive or violent behavior. We then present programs and practices that are yielding hopeful outcomes for several of these risks. Finally, we review a process of combining these programs and practices in a school setting, and discuss how this process can positively alter the social climate of a school campus.

Strand: Safe Schools, NEW!
Grade Level: K–12