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Connected & Collaborative Classrooms
(Workshop + Coaching)
I offer a school-specific, expanded, version of my signature Behavior With the B.R.A.I.N. in Mind program to schools, districts, or groups of educators and therapists that focus on building strong foundations for learning, self-regulation, and emotional well-being.
This program incorporates the brain/body science beneath behavior to helps your school team understand how to respond when your students are overwhelmed so that you can focus on regulation and connection over conflict. This will help maximize your student's learning potential and provide you the confidence you need to connect, influence, and lead your students.
I also offer ongoing coaching to support the practical application of the concepts and skills learned in the Behavior With the B.R.A.I.N In Mind program. This coaching can be done within the classroom to help model with your students, within a small group of educators, or 1:1.
"We need to help regulate a child, before we can help educate a child."
- Dr. Cindy Hovington
Behavior With the B.R.A.I.N. In Mind Outline
Understanding Traditional Views On Behavior and Why Those Are Missing Key Information About Our Student's Needs
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Explore your current beliefs about behavior and help uncover where they originated
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Have a chance to reflect, and release, any fears or frustration you have about specific behaviors so you can be open to understanding what's truly driving the behavior you see
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Leave with new mindsets and tools to build awareness of your current reactions so you can begin to grow new ways to respond
Brain Basics - Learn the Science of Student Emotions & Behaviors and How They're Connected
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Explore the science behind emotions and how they inform children's behaviors
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Understand the power that your connection can have on your students to make sense of their emotions and build up your own self-compassion to navigate your own emotions
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Learn the tools to identify the emotions or needs underlying behaviors and how to address them from a relationship perspective
Responses Driving Behaviors - Understanding That Your Students Are Dysregulated, Not Disobedient
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Dive into the nervous system science of behavior and understand how that looks in "real life," including your own nervous system and how it impacts the way you respond to your students
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Learn about the range of tolerance we each have for stress and dysregulation during our day and how we move in and out of this "window"
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Leave with specific tools to help you identify when you or your students are getting dysregulated and how to utilize sensory input and strategies to restore regulation
Anchoring Yourself - Learning How To Lengthen Your Pause and Be A Regulated, Safe, Place for Your Students
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Gain an understanding of how reactive teaching impacts your student's emotional regulation skills and understand how to lengthen the time between your student's behavior and your - intentional - response
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Learn what co-regulation is and how you can build your own regulation skills to be able to share those with your students
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Leave with clear tools to co-regulate with your students and tools to help you, compassionately and intentionally, weave in times to restore regulation for yourself during the day
Inviting Cooperation - Moving Away from Punishment and Towards Boundaries + Collaboration With Your Students
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Understand the outcomes and impacts of punishment and traditional behavioral strategies and how they ultimately do not teach children the skills they need to learn
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Learn how to establish boundaries rooted in your values and understand how natural and logical consequences can help your students honor those boundaries
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Leave with the ability to maintain a boundary - with empathy - so your students can meet the expectations and learn from your leadership
Navigating Skill Building - Learning How to Teach & Support New Behaviors
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Understand that behavior is communication and sometimes communication of a need, or a missing skill, is actually something children need help mastering
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Gain the skills to build a bridge between current and future behaviors by understanding how children learn and what your role is in that process
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Leave with the tools to directly instruct, model, scaffold, and support your student's growth towards independence in new skills and behaviors
Are you ready to help build connected, regulated, and collaborative classrooms?
The above topics are included in the workshop I offer; however, if you have specific questions or needs, and would like to discuss the workshop further, please email me at kenya@growingupfamilies.com and I'll be happy to connect with you!
"Regulation is the foundation of teaching and learning.
A regulated teacher is the foundation of academic, social, and emotional growth in the classroom."
- Emily Read Daniels, M.Ed., MBA, NCC, SEP™
My Qualifications and Experience
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Certified Parent Coach through the Jai Institute for Parenting (2022)
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PA Educational Specialist Level II in School Psychology
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Certified School Psychologist in PA (2010)
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Masters Degree in School Psychology - Millersville University (2010)
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Bachelor's Degree in Psychology - Millersville University (2007)
I've worked in a variety of schools (public, virtual charter, and private) for 13 years and with children ages 4 through 18. I have supported and listened to teachers and school teams for over a decade and have a solid understanding of their desires for their classrooms and the challenges they face in making those a reality.
And I have seen teachers burn out and leave the profession, along with an increase in student mental health challenges, and significant spikes in referrals for evaluations related to behavior and emotions.
I've observed in hundreds of classrooms, and spent thousands of hours working with children, and have come to realize that many of the challenges faced are due to student's - and teacher's - being dysregulated during the day but lacking the information and support to build their capacity to re-regulate themselves. So they can learn and so they can teach.
Finally, I have led professional development training for teachers at a district-wide level as well as more intimately, with teachers in one specific school building for the course of a year. For several years in a row. So many teachers are asking for help and are trying to do their best by the students in their classrooms. But they first need help for themselves. A dysregulated adult cannot regulate an escalated child. I've seen that time and time again.
Educators, students, and schools deserve to be supported and guided in ensuring everyone feels safe, connected, and able to reach their potential. I'm here to support you and your school team to begin that process!