Working

The Aspire project recruits and trains teams of high school students from across the state to take a leadership role in reducing youth drug use and violence in their school or community. The application process for new teams opens during the late spring of the school year. For more information, please contact Melia Arnold, Tennessee Commission on National and Community Service at (615) 253-6314 or Melia.Arnold@tn.gov .

Guidelines for Responding to Student Threats of Violence and Extended Threat/Mental Health Assessment

The Tennessee School Safety Center invites you to attend a seminar in your region presented by Dr. Ken Strong, a licensed counseling psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist having extensive clinical and administrative experience in responding to (assessing & managing) student threats of violence. Both the FBI and Secret Service/Department of Education studies recommended that school personnel be trained to screen student threats. The University of Virginia Youth Violence Project field tested the federal recommendations and published Guidelines for Administrators in Responding to Student Threats of Violence.

In the morning session, Dr. Strong will describe how those guidelines can be used by school personnel to screen threats An extended threat/mental health assessment process, for use by psychologists and social workers, will be presented in the afternoon session.

Seminars will held in the following locations:

January 26 (Oak Ridge-Class Full)

January 27 (Nashville-Class Full)

February 27 (Jackson-Class Full)

Print registration materials below:

Registration Form

For information about registration, please contact Jo Ann Summers at (615) 532-1665 or jo.ann.summers@tn.gov.

For information about the seminars, please call Mike Herrmann at (615) 741-3248 or mike.herrmann@tn.gov

***If schools close due to bad weather in the hosting county/city then the workshop will be rescheduled for another day***

Lions-Quest Service-Learning Training

Service-learning is an innovative teaching strategy that combines volunteer service and classroom instruction. Workshops will be provided in various locations across the state to equip teachers with the skills and materials necessary to effectively incorporate service-learning into their classrooms. High school educators will receive everything necessary to meet the state’s standards and curriculum frameworks for course code 9395, “Success Skills through Service-Learning.”

Lions Quest International will train and provide materials valued at $500 for a cost of only $35 to Tennessee educators, youth workers, college of education students, and any other interested individuals through a grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation, the Lions Clubs of Tennessee, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education and Volunteer Tennessee. That’s a savings of $465! This grant ends in summer 2010—take advantage of the $35 training rate while it lasts!

For more information, please visit www.volunteertennessee.net and click on Lions-Quest Service-Learning Training or contact Meredith Freeman, Lions-Quest Service-Learning Coordinator at (615) 741-9242 or Meredith.Freeman@tn.gov.

LifeSkills Training in Tennessee

Recognized by the US Department of Education as an exemplary prevention program and recommended by the Center for Disease Control, LifeSkills Training (LST) is one of the most successful proven prevention strategies in the country - based on over 20 years of research. Studies testing the effectiveness of LST show it reduces the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use by up to 87% when implemented with fidelity.

The LST program is aligned with universal learning standards and is taught in sequence over three years. Level 1, taught in 6th grade, consists of 15 lessons (plus 3 optional violence prevention lessons). Level 2, taught in 7th grade, consists of 10 lessons (plus 2 optional violence prevention lessons). Level 3, taught in 8th grade consists of 5 lessons (plus 2 optional violence prevention lessons).

Team training is available and prepares participants to deliver all three levels. Schools planning to implement LifeSkills should send a team of 3-5 (teachers, counselors, or other classroom personnel) representing each grade to the one-day training. School Resource Officers and Safe and Drug-Free School Coordinators are also encouraged to attend as part of the team. Teams must acquire their principal’s approval and commit to implementation fidelity. Many schools choose to deliver LST in Health, Science or Social Studies, but the curriculum works equally well in Language Arts, Guidance, and exploratory/elective courses. Afterschool programs funded through 21st Century or LEAPs are also invited to participate, as well as Alternative Educators. Schools already participating in LST are allowed to send additional teachers to the training. Each participant will be provided one teacher manual and one classroom set of (30) student workbooks appropriate to the grade level at which they plan to deliver LST.

If your school has not been trained before, there is a Team Registration form. If your school is already trained and you would like to send one or two teachers to be certified, there is an Individual Registration form. To inquire about LifeSkills registration, training and Technical Assistance, or student materials, please contact Stefanie Ellis at (615) 253-6379 or by e-mail at stefanie.ellis@tennessee.edu.

The Methamphetamine Awareness Project

The Department of Education is pleased to announce a new training opportunity for Tennessee educators and others working in a school setting. The Methamphetamine Awareness Project will focus on the drug methamphetamine and its impact on children.
Participants receive a basic overview of the drug as well as learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of children living in a home where methamphetamine is being produced or used. Appropriate intervention strategies will also be identified. These trainings are made possible through a collaboration between the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, Office of Criminal Justice Programs and is supported by the Governor’s Methamphetamine Initiative Grant.

Any questions about the trainings may be directed to Lori Ungurait at (615) 253-6382 or via email to lori.ungurait@tennessee.edu. (A confirmation and directions will be
sent upon registration.)

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

The Tennessee Department of Education, in collaboration with STARS Nashville and Clemson University, is pleased to announce the availability of certification training for the Olweus Bullying Prevention (OBP) Program. The Olweus Program is heavily researched and recognized around the world as the premier bullying prevention program.

Twenty applicants will be selected to receive the training, materials and ongoing consultation necessary to become a certified OBP trainer. Prior training experience and a two-year commitment to local implementation are required.

Normally, the cost of the certification training is approximately $3,900 per person; however, federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools funding will absorb approximately 85% of this amount. A local match of $750 per trainee will be required. Local, state Safe Schools Act or federal Title IV funds may be utilized to meet the local match requirement.

Detailed information and an application package can be found at www.starsnashville.org. Applications must be received on or before November 14, 2008, in order to be considered.

PREPARE Training

The Tennessee Department of Education has partnered with Vanderbilt Community Mental Health Center to provide a professional development training called PREPARE. PREPARE is designed to develop and disseminate information to school districts that will assist in advancing an “after the crisis” response plan. This is an excellent, hands-on, interactive training designed to assist school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists and crisis team members in what to do after a crisis. The training is free but seating is limited, so register as soon as possible.

Registration materials can be obtained by emailing Rose Cope at Rosemary.Cope@vanderbilt.edu. General questions about the training can be directed to Nichole Cobb, Director of School Counseling at (615) 741-5113 or via email to Nicole.cobb@tn.gov.

Student Discipline and Alternative Education Institute 2009

In collaboration with the Department of Education's Office of General Counsel, the Office of School Safety and Learning Support and the UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center present the 2009 Student Discipline and Alternative Education (SDAE) Institute. The conference will be held in Nashville on February 17th and 18th. The registration fee for the conference is $99.00, which will include breakfast and lunch on both days. There will also be an evening reception on February 17th sponsored by Ombudsman Educational Services of America. The downtown Hilton will be hosting the Institute. Hotel reservations should be made by contacting the Hilton at (615) 620-1000. Please be sure to indicate you are with the Department of Education’s SDAE Institute when making reservations and to receive the state rate. The reservation code is (UTN). State rates for lodging are currently $117.00 for Nashville.

The conference will promote proactive approaches to dealing with student discipline, as well as legal and procedural issues/practices related to the field. This will include an in-depth training on how to conduct a disciplinary hearing and provide due process prior to making a disciplinary decision regarding suspension or expulsion. Exemplary practices in alternative education will also be explored. Experts in the field of educational law, student discipline, social and emotional learning, and alternative education will provide a wide variety of breakout sessions for participants. Below you will find the registration form and a TENTATIVE list of breakout sessions- a final list will be provided in the participant’s notebook at the conference. SDAE is appropriate for educators who are interested in and committed to best practices in student discipline, alternative education and social and emotional learning. Department officials have applied for TASL credit and hope to make that available to interested participants at the conference.

For more information regarding the Institute contact Lori Ungurait at (615) 253-6382 or via email to lori.ungurait@tennessee.edu.

The Tennessee School Safety Center is a project of the Tennessee Department of Education. Funding is provided, in part, by the US Department of Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program.

Training Information (SY 2008-2009)

Aspire - Youth Outreach for a Safe and Drug-Free Tennessee