Program Offerings
Please check back in the near future for information on our new plans and programs.
And remember: Shared Respect is Everyone's Responsibility. Join us in creating climates of respect in our communities whenever and wherever we are.
Statewide Sessions
"Don't
Laugh at Me" 2-Day Initial Workshop for Statewide Participation (Free)
The 2-day initial workshop of the "Don't Laugh at Me" program
is targeted primarily at elementary and middle school level professionals. The
2-day workshop is free, and all are open to participation from schools
throughout the state. The 2-day initial workshop consists of an intensive
training program which helps students and all the adults who impact their
lives to create "climates of respect" by working together to
recognize intolerance, increase respect, and enhance sensitivity to students'
emotional needs. To register for a DLAM session please go to the Professional
Development section of our web site.
Common themes of the "Don't Laugh at Me" program include the following:
- What "respect" means, feels like and looks like
- How the wide spectrum of violence is manifested and how it increases if not managed
- How to develop a common language of respect
- What roles and responsibilities are for adults and for youths in creating safe environments
- The role of bystandes
- What the "common values" are that should be supported
- What must occur to bring one another closer together to seek common understanding and appreciation of each other
"Respect
Me!" 1-Day Introductory Session for Statewide Participation (Food
charge only)
The introductory sesssion for "Respect Me!" is a 1-day program
that has goals identical to "Don't Laugh at Me" but is aimed
at the middle and high school levels. Importantly, "Respect Me!"
requires that faculty/staff and students participate together.
These 1-day sessions are free, other than the charge for food,
and are open to participation from schools throughout the state. All are
held at the Connecticut Association
of Schools, 30 Realty Drive, Cheshire, CT 06410. The directions are
posted on the Professional Development section
of our web site, and CEUs are awarded for participation. Contact CAS
to register.
"Making
the Most of After-School Programs" Statewide Series (Free)
This newly designed series is targeted primarily toward those adults who
work with youth in after-school settings. In order to create safe
environments for children, all of the diverse activities and contexts
in which young people live, learn and play must also be included in this
important work. Beginning in March 2004 and continuing throughout
the year, those who work in alternative environments other than school
classrooms will be able to gain information and technical assistance specifically
to help them create the most positive experiences for the youth with whom
they work. Specific topics to be covered in this series are: creating
blueprints for sustained efforts to create respectful environments, helping
with homework, youth development, reading and literacy, behavior management
and integrating recreation and academics. Those who are interested
in participating can view the invitational
letter, program descriptions and calendar,
as well as downloading a registration
form to e-mail back (as an attachment) or fax or mail to us. For directions
please see our Professional Development page.
On-Site Program
Offerings
"Don't Laugh
at Me" 1-Day On-Site Presentation ($1250 Full Day)
This full day is devoted to providing the same information as the initial
2-day workshop contains but is offered to schools that prefer to hold
the session on-site during a professional development day or as a follow-up
offered to the school’s entire adult community after a team or a
few staff members have been introduced to "Don't Laugh at Me."
With minor modifications from the full 2-day initial workshop, the content
and research surrounding the principles, practices, and strategies behind
creating "climates of respect" are presented along with the
introduction of the "Don't Laugh at Me" curriculum for elementary
and middle school levels.
"Respect Me!" 1-Day On-Site Presentation ($1250 Full Day)
This day-long workshop is targeted at middle and high schools and requires
that faculty/staff and students participate together. The workshop
is devoted to providing the same information as the statewide sessions
but is offered to schools that prefer to hold the session on-site, perhaps
during a professional development day or as a way to involve the entire
school. The thrust of this workshop is to look at the "elements of
respect" within the school setting and to explore some central questions
that will help the participants create outlines for action planning in
order to improve school climate for everyone within the school community.
Follow-Up On-Site
Presentations: In-Depth Workshops Focused On Creating Respectful Environments
($1250 Full Day/ $650 Half Day)
Schools and organizations which have already participated in the initial 2-day training work at a deeper level to tackle
important issues surrounding the improvement of overall climate. The content
of these half or full days depends upon what the school or organization
wishes to address. Some of the topics might include making better connections
among the children and adults within the school or organization, exploring
how parents, school personnel and students communicate, or developing
an action plan to address changes that can be made within the school or
organization to provide emotionally safer environments.
Parent/PTO/PTA Evening
1-2 Hour Presentations ($350 and Up)
Because creating true "climates of respect" must be a school,
family and community partnership, it is important to introduce parents
to the concepts that their children are learning during the school day.
This presentation not only introduces parents to the work that is going
on with their children, but also importantly instructs them on some key
elements that help parents collaborate positively with the school to create
a common language and understanding of respectful behavior. This session
should only be scheduled after the adults working within the school have
gained a clear understanding about creating climates of respect.
Creating Climates
of Respect for the Administrator ($650 Half Day)
Many of the decisions and policies made by administrative leaders have
a great deal of impact on the culture and climate of a school or organization.
In this half-day session, the central aspects of creating respectful environments
are presented from the perspective of an administrator. The content contains
the latest research and statistics about the Connecticut landscape as
well as the supporting principles surrounding what must exist in practice
to experience respectful environments.
Problem Solving for
School Personnel ($1250 Full Day/$650 Half Day)
Solving problems and conflict with youth requires that adults learn a
skill base to facilitate conflict resolution. The latest research also points to
key differences in how boys and girls express anger and aggression and
that these differences impact how each group solves problems. In this
session, both the skill base and the necessary information will be presented
with the goal of having the adults within the school or organization learn
the necessary knowledge and skills to facilitate the resolution of conflict.
Summer Camp, Recreation
Department, Out-of-School Staff Workshops: Fundamentals of Creating Respectful
Environments for Youth in Recreational Settings ($1250 Full Day/$650
Half Day)
Youths who participate in programs outside of school are just as subject
to disrespectful and unsafe emotional arenas as they are within a school
environment. It is important for those adolescents and adults who work
with youth in these leisure settings to understand the principles, practices,
and strategies necessary to provide youth with both emotional and physical
safety. This workshop is designed to bring this necessary information
to those who work with youth outside of school.
Support Staff including
Bus Drivers, Cafeteria, Office and Custodial Staff, etc.: Workshops for
Supporting School Staff in Creating Respectful Environments ($650 Half
Day)
The largest number of inappropriate and dangerous behaviors conducted
by youth and resulting in "referrals" to the school administration
happen outside of the classroom. It is thus of great importance
that those who supervise youth, other than classroom teachers and administrators,
gain the same knowledge and understanding about what it means to create
respectful environments. This workshop is targeted specifically toward
those who have little or no formal academic knowledge about the field
of education, but who directly supervise and impact youth in their most
vulnerable places.
Community On-Site Presentations:
For Community Organizations Who Deal with Families in Guiding Respectful
Relationships ($1250 Full Day/$650 Half Day)
Community organizations, by their nature, often work with schools and
families on many levels. Whether their charter is to provide social services,
recreational opportunities, counseling, or youth leadership (as in Girl
or Boy Scouts or 4-H programs), they serve in a unique intermediary role
and can provide leadership as well as information for their constituents
about respectful belief and behavior. This seminar targets those organizations
that impact youth and families since creating continuity for youths requires
that the standards for respectful behavior be seamless among school, family
and community.
Seminars for Adults in the Roles of Parents and Colleagues ($350 and
Up, Length Varies)
The quality of home, school, and work life is often dependent upon the
degree to which those within them feel they are safe and are respected
members of the communities in which they live, learn and work. The following
topical seminars target adults who may have multiple roles in their lives
as parents and colleagues.
Topics Include:
Creating "Climates of Respect" for Children: An Overview for
Adults
Each and every one of us, child and adult alike, wants to be respected
and accepted for who we are within the multiple communities in which we
live, learn and work. Experiencing this requires that we have a clear
understanding of what "respect" means, feels like and looks
like, as well as an understanding of the importance of respect during
the learning process and in achieving academic success. Explore these
elements of respect as well as the roles we all play and skills we all
need to maintain and support respectful environments for our children
and ourselves.
Friendships, Cliques, and Bullying: Understanding
Boys' and Girls' Aggression
Diminishing the current levels of bullying behaviors in our schools and
communities requires that we understand how boys and girls differ in their
patterns of friendship, in their loyalty to cliques and in how they manage
and show their emotions from their separate perspectives. Explore these
critical differences and acquire some strategies to help guide both groups
on this challenging course of learning to relate with others positively.
Coaches, Kids and Parents: Creating Winning
Teams
Adults who serve as professional or volunteer coaches, or in some other
capacity in the recreational sports arena, can learn how to work positively
and successfully with youths so that all members of the team, as well
as the adults working with them, have a positive sports experience that
will make everyone proud. It has been widely reported that many children
drop out of youth sports teams or choose not to participate at all because
of the pressure they are under to perform at levels beyond their means.
This program is designed to explore the many influences that have led
us down this path and the techniques we can seek out to provide a useful
framework for turning this trend around.
Violence on Television, Media, and the Internet:
Influencing Today's Youth
The messages of physical and emotional violence are pervasive in today's
media culture. Because it is virtually impossible to avoid all forms of
this culture, whether on the Internet or in advertising, films, television,
print, arcade and video games, recordings or radio, the messages abound.
Gain a better understanding of what these messages are, why they are so
influential, and how they contribute to supporting disrespect in our communities.
Our goal must be to recognize and manage these messages consciously for
ourselves and our children.
The Double-Edged Sword of "The
Age of Information": Reconnecting Face-to-Face
The very tools that help us connect with immediacy in cyberspace have
also unwittingly diminished the need to communicate in person. More and
more each day, it seems that we are all becoming increasingly "plugged
in" to technological devices that allow "communication"
without ever meeting face-to-face. Paradoxically, building community in
our schools, homes, work places, and recreation venues requires personal interaction.
Explore this contradiction and learn some positive strategies to help
manage this cultural reality and reconnect with others more meaningfully.
What is Respect? We’re All Models; We
Might As Well be Good Ones
Building communities of respect requires that those within them live and
model qualities that support admirable behavior and belief. Explore the
various aspects of our influence on our youth, friends, family members
and colleagues, for better or worse, and gain some tools to better manage
this role we all have as parents, mentors, coaches, co-workers or managers.
Student Assemblies ($350 and Up, Length and Number Vary Depending on
the School)
Approximately 90% of a school population is made up of youths. Although
the adults in the school must take a leadership role in creating climates
of respect, it is ultimately up to the youth population to move the effort
forward positively. Young people must be given the same information and
expectations as the adults who guide and model for them. Developing common
expectations and language is an important foundational piece in respecting
others and improving overall school climate. Staff from Operation Respect
CT work with identified school personnel to create powerful assembly content
for students at different age and grade levels, content which addresses
these expectations and language issues. Operation Respect CT staff will
deliver the assemblies in the most appropriate time frame and school space.
This session should only be scheduled after the adults working within
the school have gained a clear understanding about creating climates of
respect.
To schedule any session, or for more information Contact
Us.
