Want to change the trajectory of the lives of children and youth? Then don’t miss these 2-day professional development workshops! Join us October 22-23 in-person in Anchorage, Alaska or virtually for these unique hybrid events.
** These two workshops are concurrent. Please register for the workshop that best meets your needs.**
Who should attend?
Anyone who works with children and youth, whether in a school, family-serving organization, faith-based community, parents, relatives, or friends of teens.
Please note these COVID safety requirements for attending in-person in Anchorage
Brightways Learning is committed to making our events safe, as your health and well-being are our top priority.
For our upcoming workshops in Anchorage, we will require in-person participants to wear a mask while indoors except when eating or drinking. Brightways Learning facilitators and staff are fully vaccinated. We will not require attendees to show proof of vaccination.
We provide equitable access to vital learning opportunities for adults and students. For those who do not feel comfortable attending in-person – or are otherwise unable to travel to Anchorage – we are offering these workshops as hybrid events. Our hybrid events provide simultaneous live and virtual (Zoom) participation and engagement.
Every Brightways Learning event is highly interactive and immediately valuable. So whether you join us in person or virtually, you will engage with relevant, leading-edge content through meaningful activities. Click HERE to check out what school administrators said from a hybrid event we hosted last summer!
For virtual attendees: Please register by October 10 to ensure enough time to receive a mailed activity kit to support your full engagement.
Resilient Youth: Connection Matters!
October 22-23, 2021
Youth and adults are changing how they see themselves, their schools, and their communities. It’s clear that relational connection with adults and peers is vital to immediate and lifelong resilience. In fact, every day across Alaska and beyond, youth and adults are using the Full-Color Web of Support approach to grow and thrive.
This engaging learning experience will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to work alongside youth to amplify their strengths and self-activate their complex systems of support. Both adults and accompanied teenagers are encouraged to attend!
Based on the world's best social-emotional, youth development, and other research, the Full-Color Web of Support™ framework helps to amplify other health, wellness, and achievement programs. It can mitigate trauma and also bolster against daily stresses such as bullying, drugs, alcohol, suicidal ideation, and more. Furthermore, it aligns with and supports Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and SEL Competencies. Understanding this strengths-based approach will enable you to recognize, appreciate, and magnify what is right about youth, thereby ensuring their chance to succeed and flourish. This renewed clarity gives you the tools and opportunities to connect with youth as they grow in meaningful and measurable ways. Scroll down for facilitator bios.
Fortifying Student Resilience with Full-Color Web Coaching
October 22-23, 2021
*Prerequisite: previous attendance at one of our introductory workshops is required. Contact us if you are unsure you meet this requirement.
When youth and adults begin seeing themselves and the world around them in “Full Color,” they crave to understand more about how they can thicken Webs of Support. If you want to deepen your understanding and ability to become a more effective Anchor, then this workshop is for you!
During this unique learning experience, we’ll explore how the human brain is wired for connection with others, which is why human cultures and lifestyles universally rely on shared experiences, understanding, and communication. We will examine how neuroscience influences who we are and how we communicate and respond to the world around us. From this foundation, we will dive deep into how you can help youth thicken their Webs of Support.
You will practice and take away strategies you can use as an Anchor to support youth (e.g., through life challenges, stresses, with peers, etc.) and coach other Anchoring adults who support youth. We’ll discuss different types of Anchors, the power of Web diversity, and inter-Web communication. We will also address how the online Student Support Card™ assessment tool can play an influential role in coaching youth to thicken their Full-Color Webs of Support. Adults and college students are encouraged to attend. Scroll down for facilitator bios.
Registration
For each workshop, the registration fee covers two full days of hands-on training and materials. Choose to attend in-person in Anchorage or virtually on Zoom. Either way, you will experience the same level of engagement and interactivity during these unique, hybrid events!
Adult Only - $275
Student Only (high school or college) - $95
Adult + Student together - $325
20% discount when 4 or more register together!
LODGING: Discounted rate of $109 + taxes/fees at the Crowne Plaza Anchorage-Midtown, 109 W. International Road. Use this link, enter the dates, and press Select.
AIRFARE: When booking Alaska Airlines flights to Anchorage for these workshops, you can use the discount code ECMD786 to receive a 7% discount. The discount code is valid for arrival 6 days before and after the event.
Workshop Facilitators
Our team is committed to making a difference in the lives of youth, educators, parents, and communities. These experts bring decades of experience and knowledge to ensure optimal learning and lifelong success.
Facilitators for Resilient Youth: Connection Matters!
Derek Peterson - Derek is a youth development leader, writer, teacher, and advocate who works to show and measure the intersections of youth development with issues in education, youth risk behaviors, community, and social change. As the founder of Integrative Youth Development (IYD)™ and the Student Support Card™, his work translates the complexity of youth development into an easy-to-understand framework that inspires adults and youth to thicken the web of support each needs to thrive. Derek currently serves as a Consulting Associate for Brightways Learning’s Kaleidoscope Connect services, an Associate with the International Institute for Children’s Rights and Development in Victoria, B.C., and as the CEO of the Institute for Community and Adolescent Resilience – Unifying Solutions (ICAR-US). His work takes him around the world leading workshops, lectures, and retreats, working in areas as diverse as villages near the Arctic Circle to classrooms in Juarez, Mexico. Derek supports leaders in increasing student achievement, mitigating trauma and adverse childhood experiences, and decreasing youth risk behaviors while increasing ethical development and resilience.
Stephanie Damery has nearly 20 years of experience in K-12 education. She earned a B.Ed. Generalist Degree with an Educational Psychology Minor from the University of Alberta, Canada. She has served the Alberta education system in a variety of roles including classroom teacher, Instructional Learning Coach, Jurisdictional Learning Services Coordinator, PACE Provincial Curriculum Writing Team Member, and Assistant Principal. Stephanie is passionate about supporting teachers in their professional growth by focusing on relationships, student learning, and data-based decision-making. An educator from her core, Stephanie is an enthusiastic and empathetic leader motivated to foster a culture of collaboration among students, staff, parents, and community stakeholders, in pursuit of success for every student. As a reflective educator, lifelong learner, and advocate for student success, Stephanie has worked within her school and community, to bring Webs of Support to life! She is joining Brightways Learning to share her passion for youth development with other communities.
Facilitators for Fortifying Student Resilience with Full-Color Web Coaching
Amy McDonald has more than two decades of experience in K-12 education, including a K-8 Type B Teaching Certification and a Master’s in K-12 School Counseling. Amy has spent many years working in administrative roles and has an extensive background in supporting students from academics, to social-emotional learning, trauma informed care, strengths-building, and strategies for addressing the whole child. She has a leadership role co-developing and implementing Brightways Learning’s Kaleidoscope Connect services and has delivered engaging trainings with both youth and adults in the United States and Canada. She also worked in group homes and on a daily basis provides one-on-one support to students. Living in multi-ethnic communities has given Amy a fresh look at youth development as she continues to work in multiple school districts with youth and tribal organizations inside and outside Alaska.
Jen O'Brien-Rojo - As a youth advocate, youth development director, and Executive Director of the California Institute for Invincible Youth, Jen has supported teens, families, schools, and communities for over 30 years. Her current projects include working with LGBTQ+ youth, faith communities, and teens looking to replace substance use/abuse with a healthy web of support. In addition, Jen serves on the planning committee for the Western Region Association for Experiential Education, is a member of the Community Prevention Partners, and an instructor and curriculum development fellow for The Institute for Community and Adolescent Resiliency - Unifying Solutions. Jen is a national trainer for Brightways Learning and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Integrative Youth Development.
CONTACT US with any questions!