We train teachers and leaders in activities and pedagogy that develop the skill, motivation and capacity youth and adults need to name, acknowledge and repair harm AND be actively and meaningfully engaged in the learning community.

 

Our Community of Care work has three main goals:

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1. Increase adult skills in building relationships with students that are boundaried, authentic, and equitable.

2. Shift the focus from the "one trusted adult" model of student-adult relationship to one of a community of care, where everyone feels respected, seen and heard—youth and adults. This is a place where adults focus on how to create connections between their students so that when they are absent or move on, the students feel each other's support. 

3. Build strong skills in relational play, restorative communication, agreement development, and conflict resolution.

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When this community of care is created collaboratively with students then true accountability can happen. "Accountability" at its root means "to be counted." When we hold students and each other accountable with care we are saying, "You matter to us. Your actions matter. Your words matter."  When students care about each other, they want to repair the harm they've done. Building this community of care and accountability therefore is 80% of the work of becoming a restorative school.

 

While we encourage schools to build these into their Whole School Implementation plan, we also offer the following workshops as stand alones. Each can be adjusted to run from 1.5 to 3 hrs. Please contact us if you have a professional development need not represented here:
 

Trauma Sensitive and Restorative Teaching and Leading

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We are passionate about the intersections between different strands of this work. In our approach restorative and trauma informed principles go hand in hands. We like to say it's where "neuroscience meets touchy-feely." In this workshop we equip educators with the knowledge they need about the brain under stress and trauma and the ways restorative and trauma-informed principles mitigate and even can heal the impact of chronic stress and trauma.

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The Power of Play (all ages) 

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We've discovered that low stakes games and improv activities increases the positive risk taking needed for learning and repairing harm for adults and youth. We use play with all ages to increase wellness and improve culture.

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Mindful Educator Wellness (adults) 

 

Accessing our expertise and training in Mindfulness for Educators, compassion fatigue and trauma informed practices our team supports educators to develop healthy boundaries, practice self care with students, learn mindfulness skills for self-awareness and emotional self-regulation.

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The Art of the Check-In (all ages) 

 

We've come to see the "check-in" as the most important element of a community of care. Whether it's a one-minute "thumb-o-meter" check-in or a 20-minute circle round sharing our "weather report", check-ins form the foundation for a community in which people feel seen and heard as human beings, where empathy is developed, and the skills of self-awareness and self-management are practiced.

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Circling Up (all ages) 

 

Based on skills learned through check-ins, educators and students learn to Circle Up when difficult issues come up in the community, classroom, or nation that need to be discussed. Circling Up is a natural and necessary response to challenges an decision-making that humans have practiced since they first gathered around fire. When we Circle Up, we ensure that everyone in the community is seen and heard and know they matter. (Pre-requisite training: The Art of the Check-In)

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Youth-Adult Partnership (all ages) 

 

For many educators, "classroom management" can feel like an "us vs them" proposition. In this offering, we work with you to develop learning and exploring events where youth and adults can get to know each other and collaborate together to create better ways to do school. 

 

Restorative Teaming (all ages) 

 

Research clearly shows that humans feel less burn-out and more engagement when they feel they have a voice, their work (learning) is relevant, their efforts are impactful and they feel connected to something bigger. This is why our restorative implementation utilizes a specific teaming model that builds these qualities into every aspect of team formation and work.

 

Please write to info@starlingcollaborative.org if you'd like to learn more.