 Current Training Events
2007-2008
 Aspire - Youth Outreach for a Safe and Drug-Free Tennessee
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@state.tn.us.
More Information
Character Education Partnerships
In May of 2000, Tennessee received a four-year Partnerships in Character Education grant from the US Department of Education. The Partnership focuses on disseminating information regarding effective approaches to character education. The Partnership is also charged with recognizing schools/districts with the "Best Practices in Character Education" annual award. Additional information is available on the Character Education site or by contacting Laura Nichols at (615) 253-6037 or by e-mail at Laura.Nichols@state.tn.us.
Tennessee
Character Education Home
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 at no cost to Tennessee educators through a grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation and the Department of Education.
Click here to download the registration form for Skills for Adolescence/Growing (K-8).
Click here to download the registration form for Skills for Action (9-12).
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@state.tn.us.
Life Skills Training
Recognized by the US Department of Education as one of nine exemplary prevention programs and recommended by the Center for Disease Control and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Life Skills Training is a nationally recognized alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention program developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin of Cornell University. The research-based program targets students in grades 6, 7 and 8 and has been proven to significantly reduce tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use. A three-year grant enables us to underwrite all out-of-pocket expenses (training and materials) associated with the implementation of this program. For more information or to register for the upcoming training classes see the link below or you may contact
Lori Ungurait at (615) 253-6382.
Additional Information
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.)
No Bullying Implementation Training
Bullying behaviors can have a significant impact on the safety and climate of our schools. Implementation training and program materials for the Johnson Institute's No Bullying program are available for elementary and middle school teams committed to addressing this problem. Contact Mike Herrmann at (615) 741-3248 or Mike.Herrmann@state.tn.us for more information.
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
The Tennessee Department of Education is pleased to announce the availability of certification training for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. This project is being developed in collaboration with the Center for Youth Issues - Nashville and Clemson University. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBP) was developed in Norway and has been recognized as a model program by the U.S. Department of Education.
Thirty individuals will be provided with the training, support materials and ongoing consultation necessary to become a certified OBP trainer. Successful applicants will be expected to make a two-year commitment to the process and will be selected based upon prior training experience and local commitment to program implementation. Detailed information and application packages can be found at www.studentstakingarightstand.org. Applications must be received on or before November 17, 2006, in order to be considered.
Parent Project Facilitator Training
The Parent Project Facilitator Training is a 10 to 16 week parent training program designed specifically for parents of strong-willed or out-of-control adolescent children. The curriculum teaches concrete prevention, identification, and intervention strategies for the most destructive of adolescent behaviors (poor school attendance and performance, alcohol and other drug use, gangs, runaways, and violent teens).
The Parent Project Facilitator Training is a 5-day, 40-hour course. Due to the serious nature of many children’s high risk behavior choices, satisfactory completion of the training is required to teach Parent Project Senior programs. Participants will be required to attend each full day session. After completing the five- day training, each trained Parent Project Facilitator is issued a Certification Number which is necessary to order all Parent Project Senior materials.In addition certified trainers will receive a Facilitator Guide including camera ready overheads, lesson plans, a sample copy of Changing Destructive Adolescent Behavior parent workbook, and ongoing telephone consultation (Technical Assistance) support with Parent Project authors.
To read more about the program, please visit http://www.parentproject.com/. 
Positive Behavioral Support
Positive behavioral support emphasizes a school-wide system of support that includes proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. Instead of using a patchwork of individual behavioral management plans, a continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as hallways, restrooms). Positive behavior support is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (school-wide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all children and youth by making problem behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional. For more information on this program, click on the following link http://web.utk.edu/~swpbs/.
Questions regarding this program may be directed to Mike Herrmann at (615) 741-8468 or Mike.Herrmann@state.tn.us.
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@state.tn.us.
Safe Schools Seminars
The Tennessee Department of Education’s Office of School Safety and Learning Support will host regional seminars for a limited number of school personnel. These seminars are being developed to assist districts in meeting the planning and policy requirements associated with the Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act.
Morning seminars will be held from 8:00 – 11:30 AM and focus on the issue of threat assessments. The afternoon seminars will be held from 1:00 – 3:30 PM and focus on bullying and harassment. Directions to the seminar location will be faxed along with registration confirmation. A description of each seminar can be found by click here. For additional information about registration, please contact Lori Ungurait at 615-253-6382 or lori.ungurait@tennessee.edu.
Second Step Training
The Tennessee Department of Education’s School Safety Center and the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center have partnered together to offer the Second Step training to Tennessee’s elementary schools.
Based on over 20 years of research and classroom application, the award-winning SECOND STEP program integrates academics with social and emotional learning. Children from preschool through fifth grade learn and practice important skills, such as anger management, cooperation, respectful behavior, and problem solving. These skills help decrease students' negative and violent behaviors helping return the focus of classroom time to where it belongs-learning. Students also learn to recognize and respect people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and ethnicities. These essential life skills will help students in the classroom, on the playground, and at home.
For more information and registration materials visit the links below or contact Lori Ungurait at (615) 253-6382.
Second Step Overview
Secured & Prepared Schools Training
A new training and professional development opportunity to help schools identify and adopt best practices in the areas of school security and emergency preparedness is offered through a collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Department of Education. The project will address challenges ranging from school shootings to natural disasters to terrorist events. Using a three-tier model, the training is designed to create a coordinated district approach to school security and emergency preparedness.
Questions regarding this program may be directed to Mike Herrmann at (615) 741-8468 or Mike.Herrmann@state.tn.us.
Student Disciplinary Hearing Authority Training
In collaboration with the Department of Education's Office of Legal Counsel, the Office of School Safety and Learning Support will host the annual Student Disciplinary Hearing Authority (SDHA) Conference February 25-26, 2008 at
the Cools Springs Marriott
in Franklin, Tennessee. This event focuses on legal and procedural issues related to student discipline. For more information and registration materials visit the links below or contact Lori Ungurait at (615) 253-6382.
Yes 2 Kids Conference
The Yes 2 Kids Conference brings together educators, youth workers, counselors, school resource officers and others who are working to improve the lives of young Tennesseans. The format is designed to provide participants with training from nationally recognized experts as well as opportunities for networking with colleagues from across the state.
Contact Lisa Green at (615) 279-0058 or email her at lgreene@studentstakingarightstand.org if you have specific questions about the conference or use the link below.
More Information
The Tennessee School Safety Center Training Calendar
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. |
