2024 Bridge Conference

A Sensory Approach to Working With Kids is a movement based, interactive workshop intended anyone working with kids in any capacity. Educators, health practitioners, coaches, and parents will all benefit from this unique approach to working with kids. This training explores how sensory processing affects behavior and function. Why might some kids have unruly behaviors? Why is attention sometimes difficult? Why can a child not follow through with a task? Sensory processing can affect how kids might struggle with behavior, attention, even their posture and coordination. We will dive into how we can look at kids through a sensory lens and provide accommodations in any setting, provide sensory rich activities to help with behavior and attention, and even how we can provide stability to posture and help with coordination to help our children in any aspect with which we work with them. This is an interactive course where we experiment with intentional movement activities to help organize the nervous system and help kids get ready to learn, move, and achieve.

In the workshop 'Holistic Support: Durable Skills in Expanded Learning for the Age of AI,' discover why durable skills—essential traits, qualities, mindsets, and attitudes—are crucial for success in today's innovation-driven economy. Learn practical strategies and the overlooked key to helping our young people develop resilience, adaptability, effective communication, collaboration, and critical thinking for holistic education that goes beyond academics. Understand how integrating these skills into expanded learning opportunities not only prepares students for the challenges posed by AI but also empowers them to succeed with confidence in any future endeavor. Whether you're a student, teacher, parent, or community leader, join us to help equip our youth with the tools to thrive in an ever-changing world where skills-based hiring is the norm.

In this workshop, participants will gain practical strategies and essential tools to transform their educational programs into nurturing and responsive environments for individuals who have experienced trauma. Attendees will learn how to implement trauma-informed care principles, fostering a culture of understanding, safety, and support. This session will provide actionable steps to equip your staff, ensuring they are well-prepared to meet the unique needs of your youth participants.

We will build on the participants' baseline awareness that we all operate in systems that were built to oppress BIPOC or neurodiverse youth. Some of us were formally trained to serve all youth within these systems. Some of us are lucky enough to have awareness of the ways we think and operate that perpetuate the damage these systems have done. This session will help all participants see ways to manage the systemic pressures and internal biases that we all have. Even if we don’t know exactly what we’re thinking when a bias is at play, we can create activities and build relationships with staff, students and leadership that will help us identify, set aside and understand the impacts of bias. The key is to see that we are all learning: educators, students, executives and administrators. We are all experts in our experiences of the lessons presented and have a wealth of experience outside the classroom. When we come to teaching with an expectation that teachers are experts we are less capable of learning how to improve our methods according to the students’ needs. We want to attract participants from all levels of education, whether they are certificated, experienced teachers, administrators, non-profit executive leadership or funding partners who can support program development or implementation.

Conflict is an inevitable part of any environment, whether at work or home. Understanding how to identify, manage, and resolve conflict through the lens of basic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) can transform challenging situations into opportunities for growth and collaboration. This interactive 90-minute workshop will provide participants with the tools and strategies needed to navigate conflict effectively and equitably. Who Should Attend: - Team leaders and managers. - Employees seeking to enhance their conflict resolution skills. - Individuals interested in applying basic DEI principles in conflict management.

It only takes one moment for a student to hear “good job” and internalize that people-pleasing is the best way to achieve attention – essentially creating “praise junkies” in the blink of an eye. But when a trusted adult adjusts their language to specific feedback it only takes one moment to instill intrinsic motivation within the student – a moment that can lead to a movement of growth-minded young people. Join us for an engaging and transformative workshop on the benefits of specific feedback. Discover how shifting your classroom language from "good job" to specific, non-evaluative feedback can revolutionize your teaching approach and significantly benefit your students. Learn how specificity fosters growth-mindset, builds confidence, reduces anxiety and pressure, supports diverse learners, and creates an inclusive learning environment. Facilitated by self-proclaimed “education nerds” with backgrounds in theatre education and youth development, this workshop promises to be fun and educational. Participants will be actively involved, practicing the use of specific feedback with real-world classroom scenarios. This simple yet powerful tool can be seamlessly integrated into every learning environment, making a big impact on student development and classroom dynamics. By the end of the workshop, you will feel confident and empowered to implement non-evaluative language in your teaching practice, making your classroom a more supportive, motivating, and inclusive space for all students. Join us and transform your teaching with the power of specificity!

If you are a professional working with school-aged youth you might be wondering how to help the youth under your guidance cope with the torrent of developmental changes surging through their minds and bodies, not to mention the stresses of school, family, and even country, you might be looking for a tool to help you tackle the Tsunami of thoughts and feelings coming your way. Introducing MX Terra's Magic Remote! In this workshop participants will get their own copy of MX Terra's Magic Remote, game instructions, a presentation on school-aged development and the importance of improv as a tool to improve Social Emotional Learning, and more importantly a chance to play the game themselves and reflect on their experience. Improv games, done well in school-aged programming, can provide a safe and supportive environment for youth to explore different scenarios, make decisions on the spot, and take risks in a controlled setting. Through these games, youth learn how to think on their feet, communicate effectively with others, and adapt to unexpected situations – all skills that are essential for navigating the complexities of the world around them. We will talk about some famous improv games such as Dungeons and Dragons and learn about some famous minds who credit this form of play as crucial to their development. We will discuss how, with thoughtful adult facilitation, improv games help youth process their thoughts and feelings in a fun and engaging way while still leaving youth with a sense of agency over their environment. By encouraging creativity, spontaneity, and collaboration, these games enable youth to express themselves authentically and build confidence in their abilities. As they engage in playful interactions with others, they learn valuable lessons about teamwork, problem-solving, and self-expression – all of which contribute to their overall sense of agency and control over their lives. In this workshop we will learn how to play MX Terra's Magic Remote as a mixed-age group with diverse backgrounds. Each person who signs up for a turn with the master Magic Remote will get a chance to "control" the actors on stage by selecting channels, volume up, volume down, pause, mute, off and on, fast forward and rewind. HOT TIP: After you have played this game for fun several times you will find that the magic remote can be used for general classroom management. MX Terra's favorite way to use the remote in class is to rewind if a student makes a faux pax and give them a redo. It's also really fun to let everyone complain but muted or in fast-forward mode. As a workshop group we will share other games that have been effective with this age group. We will also problem-solve how to approach sensitive topics with a balance of empathy and playfulness. Participants will walk away with at least one new game but also a greater appreciation for how incorporating improv games into educational settings or extracurricular activities can provide youth with valuable opportunities to explore new possibilities, challenge themselves creatively, and ultimately cultivate a strong sense of agency over their environment.

In 1974, the first Domestic Violence shelters began to operate in the US. This was the first major step in acknowledging Domestic Violence as a public health issue. So much has changed, and progress has been made in the 50 years since. But there's still so much work to be done in the movement against Intimate Partner Violence. This workshop will educate participants on the history of Teen Dating Violence Prevention and the exciting developments in the movement's future. We will challenge misconceptions about dating violence, learn to recognize the warning signs of unhealthy relationships, and look at what today’s teens experience in dating. Most importantly, we will look at what it takes and what resources exist for YOU to start the conversation about Teen Dating Violence Prevention in your programs and communities. After this workshop, participants will leave with a greater understanding of existing resources, strategies for addressing adult bias toward teen relationships, and the building blocks for creating compassionate and empathetic support systems for youth experiencing dating violence.

How does cultivating agency empower safe and integrated learning for our students? In this workshop we will explore ways you can center and apply agency and consent tools to enhance your students’ experience and creative practices. Focal points will include exploring what makes a safe space, how to establish boundary practices in your classroom, exercises to support nervous system regulation, and ways to intentionally implement student agency in your curricula.

The workforce continues to evolve and organizations across the expanded learning field are being called to meet the diverse needs and learning styles of program staff. This workshop explores strategies for high quality staff development and empowers supervisors to provide the right balance of guidance and support. Participants will learn a framework that aids in leveraging the natural talents of their team, serves as inspiration when challenges arise, and establishes high expectations that contribute to transformational results for youth. 

In this session, participants will:

• Learn Be the Change Consulting’s Arc of Staff Development, a framework to mentor and coach employees to become independent, proactive team members
  
• Explore a spectrum of strategies to develop staff from supervision towards thought partnership
  
• Create a process to identify opportunities for growth and build a customized professional development plan
  

Join us for an immersive session on the Mindful Fibers Program, where we blend fiber arts with mindfulness practice to foster self-awareness and self-regulation in youth. Recent research into youth development highlights the importance of creative and mindful practices in enhancing mental wellbeing and SEL skills, and also underscores the significance of supporting practitioners' own mindfulness practices in order to strengthen outcomes for youth. SEL skill building is crucial for our young people to prepare them to move through a tumultuous world and effect positive change, while nurturing their own health and happiness. This session offers educators hands-on experience with the same techniques used in the program. Participants will engage in a fiber arts activity, while discussing how to integrate mindfulness practices into their program. You will leave this session with a Mindful Fibers curriculum, tangible strategies, and the confidence to build a practice of mindfulness with youth in your programs!

There is a unique and undeniable link between depression, mental health and suicide. Therefore, effective mental health education IS suicide prevention - particularly depression education. Learn how Shine Light on Depression resources including youth education, teen empowerment and family engagement resources, support schools and community-based organizations in providing evidence-informed mental health education and help-seeking skills for all students. These programs raise awareness about youth depression. This session will describe how utilizing these programs can have a positive impact on youth and your community's mental health culture and climate. Participants will learn how to immediately access and implement these free turn-key programs along with other resources available for staff and families.

Are you a youth worker who values restorative practices, youth voice, and growing equitable and connected program spaces? This workshop is for those who are excited by the liberatory possibilities of community circles, by the why, and are looking for guidance on how. Moving beyond the programmatic foundations of emotional safety and self- and co-regulation, we’ll link individual practices like developing agreements, using mistakes as opportunities for repair, and solutions vs consequences into a scaffolded process to implement community circles in youth programs. This workshop also provides specific strategies to teach these higher-order SEL practices to youth.

In the world of out-of-school activities, icebreakers are often used as a way to encourage groups to bond and build relationships in a short period of time. However, icebreakers are typically ineffective due to participants' reluctance to engage with them. They also tend to be non-inclusive for participants who are neurodiverse, disabled, speak English as a second language, or are introverted. In this session, participants will learn how to turn icebreakers into more effective connection builders that are inclusive of the majority of participants and that foster more authentic connections. Participants will leave this session with new activities to bring back to their groups as well as a new perspective on icebreakers and activity accessibility.

Are you struggling to manage a classroom where children find it challenging to listen, follow instructions, and stay organized? This insightful workshop is designed for youth workers and teachers focused on cultivating essential skills that enhance student learning and behavior. We will explore ways to create a supportive learning culture that encourages the development of focus and organization, equipping you with tools to manage common classroom challenges and improve overall student performance. Empower your students to reach their full potential and transform your classroom into an organized, focused, and thriving environment.

The Power of Play training introduces the importance of play and lays the foundation for creating a safe, healthy, and respectful environment for youth. Through experiential learning and debriefing, we provide tools to help create safe and inclusive play opportunities for youth. While the Power of Play is for everyone, this session is especially impactful for direct service staff at the elementary level.