Most of our programs and services have been adapted for online delivery. If you don’t see a program you are interested in for online delivery listed here, please see contact info at the bottom of this page.
Youth Empowerment
Safe School Ambassadors® Program Virtual Launch and Hybrid Training
Training Framework: 4 Online Modules and 1 day in person training at your school site.
The online component is delivered in 4 modules, each lasting approximately 1.5 hours.
The Ambassadors will continue to meet with each other and their adult leaders online in Virtual Family Groups. Best practice is to have this meeting occur weekly. The online component includes Virtual Family Group Agendas.
A Community Matters Trainer will deliver the in-person full day training on campus when school resumes.
Online Content
Module 1: Foundation and Community Building
During this module participants will get acquainted with their trainer and each other, form group agreements, and understand the structure of the online modules. They will review the SSA Program principles and the Ambassador Job.
Module 2: Identifying mistreatment and the costs to ourselves and community
Participants will begin to learn how to recognize types of mistreatment including mistreatment that occurs in the wider online community and media outlets. They will learn what the costs of mistreatment are to their community and to individual people, and will be empowered to start their Ambassador work beginning with themselves.
Module 3: Ambassador Job & Balancing
During this module participants will learn about the Ambassador Job (the framework for their Ambassador work) and learn how to use the Balancing Action to maintain healthy spaces during physical distancing and beyond.
Module 4: Supporting & Getting Help
Ambassadors will learn the actions of Supporting and Getting Help. They will focus on how to use these actions during physical distancing and in-person with virtual role playing. During this module we will discuss Getting Help and referring other Ambassadors and adults to further support structures.
In-Person Content:
The in-person training will strengthen the bonds that were developed during the online modules and during the online Family Group Meetings. The Trainer will review material covered and introduce new Ambassador Actions including: Reasoning, Distracting, Active Listening and Getting Help.
Safe School Ambassadors® Program Virtual Training
Training Framework: The all-online training is delivered in four modules, each lasting approximately two hours.
Modules are delivered via the Zoom platform, password protected and interactive.
After the training, Ambassadors will continue to meet with each other and their Adult Facilitators online in
Virtual Family Groups. Best practice is to have this meeting occur weekly. The agendas for the Virtual Family Groups will be shared with the Adult Facilitators, who are drawn from the adults who participate in the online modules.
For Safe School Ambassadors Initial trainings: Up to 40 new student Ambassadors and 5-7 adults. Everyone participates in all four modules.
For Safe School Ambassadors Expansion trainings: Up to 40 new student Ambassadors and 5-7 adults.
During Module 4 only: Up to 6 Veteran Ambassadors may be invited to participate in this final module and share their experiences as Safe School Ambassadors as well as welcome the new Ambassadors to their group.
Content
Module 1: Foundation and Community Building
Participants will get to know their trainer and each other as well as understand the structure of the online modules. They will go over the SSA program principles and overview of the Ambassador Job. Participants will begin to learn how to recognize types of mistreatment including that found in the wider online community and media outlets.
Module 2: Recognizing the costs of mistreatment to ourselves and the community
Through hands-on and interactive activities, participants explore more of the effects of mistreatment in their own school community and understand their own roles in receiving, perpetrating, and witnessing mistreatment. After discussing the negative costs to themselves and their communities, students are empowered to start their Ambassador work and learn about the elements of their Ambassador jobs.
Module 3: Balancing, Supporting and Reasoning
During this module participants will start learning and practicing Ambassador actions. Students engage in role plays to practice the actions using real scenarios from their school.
Module 4: Active Listening & Getting Help
During the final module, students will participate in a listening circle and formalize the bonds they have developed over the past 4 days. They will also develop an understanding of why and how to Get Help when problems are too big for students to handle on their own.
Restorative Practices
An Introduction to Restorative Practices & Strategies to Implement in the Virtual Classroom
Designed for staff and administrators. Participants will develop skills for immediate application in virtual classrooms and understand how to integrate theory into practice, including:
- Creating agreements
- Utilizing affective statements
- Facilitating community building circles
- Responding restoratively to conflict and misbehavior
Participants will be able to convey an understanding of Restorative Practices and support parents/caregivers in harnessing the power of Restorative Practices to create productive online and home-schooling environments.
-2.5 hours
-For up to 30 adults
Restorative Practices Introduction and Administrators Training
Designed for administrators, classified and certified staff.
The training provides an overview of Restorative Practices as a practice that can achieve positive behavioral outcomes and improve attendance.
By the end of this training participants will:
- Gain an overview of restorative practices in relation to discipline, school climate, and its roots in restorative justice
- Know how and when to implement RP strategies such as affective statements, impromptu dialogue, and the use of circles in creating and sustaining an inclusive and restorative culture on campus
- Know the Five Administrative Strategies for effectively establishing school-wide Restorative Practices and explore best practices and lessons from the field
-Four consecutive two-hour modules (Eight hours total)
-For up to 30 adults
Connecting with Students Online Using Community Building Circles
This series of 5 interactive modules will engage and motivate participants as they delve into the beneficial possibilities of using Circles with their students in online communities. Community Building, Responsive, Curriculum and Restorative Circles will be explored as participants join in and design Circles they can immediately implement with their students.
Over the course of the 90-minute modules, participants will leave with 5 customized circles ready for implementation with their students. Join us as we create and offer tips for designing, managing, and facilitating Community and Responsive Circles.
Module 1 – The Art of Restorative Circles
Module 2 – Sharing Engaging Community Circles
Module 3 – Implementation of Fair Process, Affective Statements, and Relevant Prompts Online
Module 4 – Using Curriculum Circles Online to Strengthen Educational Settings
Module 5 – Understanding and Practice of Responsive Circles
-Each module 1.5 hours
-For up to 30 adults
Schools & Families in Partnership: Restorative Practices for Distance Learning
This 2-part series will provide parents and caregivers skills, tools and strategies they can implement in partnership with schools to bring restorative practices (RP) to life at home in order to create optimal distance learning environments for their children. This series will also deepen staff skills in RP and provide opportunities to strengthen relationships and improve communication with families to support a positive school climate at home and online.
Learning Objectives
Part One
-Foundational theories of RP
-Fair process – agreements vs. rules
-Affective statements
-Circles for fun and connectedness
Part Two
-RP response requires RP system
-RP from Restorative Justice – paradigm shift
-RP questions
-Circles for response
-1.5 hours per session
-For up to 50 participants
ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs) Virtual Training
This program is a student-centered model that educates diverse social leaders with the skills to intervene with their peers around the unsafe use of ATOD with emphasis on vaping and e-cigs.
This robust training combines live and interactive instruction through Zoom, videos, slides, and small and large group discussions covering making healthy choices, peer influence, both positive and negative, and community building activities.
Included are activities for building the following skills:
- Upstander Skills – Awareness, Recognition and Taking Action
- Self-regulation including mindfulness
- Critical thinking skills for ATOD marketing toward youth
- Building strong communities
- Compassion for others
- Healthy decision making
Outcomes – By the end of this training, participants will be:
- Empowered to make healthy choices about ATOD use
- Motivated to speak up when they see ATOD use and misuse
- Prepared to intervene and support others effectively when there is ATOD use
- Well informed and equipped on the realities and outcomes of vaping and e-cigarettes
Group size: 5 adults and 30 middle or high school students
Timeframe: 8 hours of content (two 4-hour days or four 2-hour days)
For more information and to schedule these programs, contact LeeAnn Lichnovsky at 707-823-6159 x111 or email [email protected]