Conference Day 1

8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast

9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Concurrent Session I

11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Concurrent Session II

12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.

1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Concurrent Session III

3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Exhibitor Meet and Greet II

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Hotel Check-In

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Evening Reception w/ Presenters

Conference Day 2

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Conference Keynote: Stan Davis

10:15 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Concurrent Session IV

11:45 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

12:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Concurrent Session IV

2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Conference Closing/Evaluations

2013 Conference Workshops

Please Note Workshops/Schedule is Subject to Change

"Strategies for building inner strength, reducing bullying, and building peer support"
Presenter: Stan Davis, Stop Bullying Now

Stan Davis will describe research-based strategies in these three key areas, including building connectedness, teaching cognitive skills, working toward consistency of expectations and interventions, and building inclusion and encouragement by peers.

Promoting Student Resilience and Building Community in Schools 
Presenters: Dr. Rita Johnson and Christopher C Irving, M.A., Ceceilyn Miller Institute for Leadership & Diversity

In addition to working on what we want to prevent in our schools (e.g., bullying, bias, violence), it is critically important to focus on what we want to promote as well.  This workshop focuses on two equally important and interrelated goals: increasing student resilience and improving school climate.  Participants will learn:

• Strategies for fostering students’ resilience
• Relationship between resilience and social-emotional intelligence  skills (“EQ”)
• How community-building enhances school climate and culture
• Activities that foster both EQ and community

From the School Yard to Cyber Space: A Follow-Up Study of Bullying Behaviors Amongst Middle School Students.
Presenters: Melissa Ockerman, Assistant Professor in the Counseling Program at DePaul University; Dr. Michelle Bruno, Associate Professor of Counseling at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP); Connie Kramer graduate student in Community Counseling at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

School counselors must be instrumental in combating the escalating problem of cyberbullying in schools. This workshop describes a follow-up qualitative-based study conducted in Pittsburgh, PA and Chicago, IL in four middle schools centered around cyberbullying. Focus groups were conducted to better understand middle school students’ experiences with bullying and cyberbullying and their perceptions about plausible barriers and solutions. Details related to the participants, methodology, and results of the investigation will be described. Presenters will discuss implications of this study, including best practices for addressing cyberbullying in middle schools, as well next steps for future research. Exploration of the challenges and successes of these research endeavors, as well as recommendations for training school counselors, will also be examined. Workshop participants will receive handouts and references.

The Student Resilience Tool Kit: Empowering At-Risk Targets of Bullying
Presenter: Dr. Michelle Abraham, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Miami University Hamilton

Anti-bullying programs often focus on the perpetrator, while analysis of recently completed research suggests it is actually easier to identify, and then intervene with, the potential victims. This research further suggests that victims are a product of the school climate, with diversity and minority status playing a significant role in victimization. Participants will be introduced to the ‘traits’ of potential victims to facilitate identification and intervention. In addition, this workshop will introduce participants to a method for integrating emotional and social skills training into existing bullying programs to provide all students, but especially potential victims, with skills for prevention. With this information, schools will be empowered to intervene in unique ways that best address the environment of their school.

Best Practices in Bullying Prevention
Presenters: Dr. Judith Springer and Christopher Irving, M.A., Ceceilyn Miller Institute for Leadership & Diversity

National concern about bullying has risen sharply in recent years. Educators are now faced with a bewildering array of programs and approaches aimed at addressing this important issue.  This workshop will provide participants with ten concrete strategies that have been identified as “best practices” in bullying prevention and intervention by the Health Resources and Services Administration.  Additionally the workshop will provide recommendations from other successful bullying prevention efforts across the country.  With this information school personnel will be able to identify the various approaches that are presently working across the country and decide which model(s) that may.

Empowering Parents: What every parent should know about bullying behavior and what they can do improve school and neighborhood climate.
Presenter: Yvette R. Harris, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, at Miami University Hamilton

Frustrated by  the lack of support offered  by school administrators, and the lack of support provided by law enforcement to address bullying instances with their children,  many parents have opted to assume a direct role in confronting their children’s  bullies.  These confrontations for some parents have resulted in criminal prosecution and have produced little in terms of changing bullying behavior or the bullying climates of their schools or neighborhoods. Thus the goal of this workshop is to provide parents with concrete suggestions on ways to work effectively with school administrators and law enforcement agencies to change the “bullying climate” of both neighborhoods and schools. 

Bullying and Teen Suicide Prevention
Presenter: Dr. Judith Springer, Ceceilyn Miller Institute for Leadership & Diversity

While youth suicide is the third highest cause of death of our young people, it is a preventable mental health problem.  In this important workshop participants will:

• Learn about the relationship between bullying and suicide prevention
• Learn to identify other risk factors and warning signs for youth suicide
• Learn how to foster the protective factors that can help reduce the risk of youth suicide
• Understand how to, and how not to, interact with an at-risk student
• Understand their crucial role in identifying and referring at-risk students

Additional Workshops will be added as the conference approaches stay tuned………..