Start the Year Strong:
Practical PD That Transforms Classrooms.

Half-Day Training Options

Trauma-Informed, Resilience Focused Discipline Strategies

Trauma-Informed Resilience Focused Discipline Strategies is a half-day professional development session designed to help educators move beyond traditional discipline by understanding and addressing the underlying needs that drive student behavior. Centered on the Circle of Courage model, participants will learn how belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity shape resilience and influence student actions. The training also guides educators in creating effective Behavior Support Plans that connect assessment data to practical strategies, ensuring interventions are compassionate, individualized, and trauma-informed. Through discussion, reflection, and hands-on activities, attendees will gain tools to foster supportive learning environments where all students can thrive.

Creating Cultures of Well-Being and Compassion for Helping Professionals

Creating Cultures of Well-Being and Compassion for Helping Professionals is a half-day professional development session dedicated to sustaining the mental health and resilience of those who care for others. Participants will explore the realities of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout, gaining insight into how these experiences impact both personal well-being and professional effectiveness. Drawing on the Circle of Courage model, attendees will reflect on their own universal needs and discover how community care practices—such as Constructivist Listening Dyads—can foster connection, empathy, and collective support among colleagues. Through engaging discussions, self-assessments, and interactive exercises, this training equips helping professionals with practical strategies to nurture compassionate workplace cultures where both staff and those they serve can thrive.

Starting the School Year Right with Trauma-Informed Tier 1 (PBIS) Strategies

Starting the School Year Right with Trauma-Informed Tier 1 (PBIS) Strategies is a half-day professional development training that equips educators with practical tools to build safe, nurturing, and engaging classroom environments from the very first day of school. Participants will learn how to foster meaningful connections with students through practices like classroom circles and 5:1 positive interactions, ensuring every child feels seen and valued. The session explores co-regulation and time-in strategies as alternatives to exclusionary discipline, alongside practical approaches like comfort corners that help students manage emotional overwhelm without leaving the classroom. Educators will also gain skills in teaching emotional awareness and regulation, establishing routines and rituals that create a felt sense of safety, and integrating playful activities and brain breaks that boost learning and well-being. Through discussion, hands-on activities, and reflection, attendees will leave prepared to implement trauma-informed Tier 1 PBIS strategies that promote belonging, resilience, and academic success for all students.

TIRF Strategies Building Belonging and Connection in Your School

TIRF Strategies: Building Belonging and Connection in Your School is a half-day professional development training designed to help educators create trauma-informed, resilience-focused (TIRF) environments where every student feels valued and connected. Rooted in the Circle of Courage model and Starr’s core values, the session guides participants in adopting mindsets that recognize students’ strengths and universal needs, fostering compassion and equity in school communities. Educators will explore practical ways to build strong daily connections through strategies like classroom circles, greetings, and positive interactions that nurture belonging and trust. While touching briefly on restorative practices and supportive discipline as part of a trauma-informed approach, the training primarily equips staff with tools and reflections to establish authentic relationships and a culture of care, ensuring students feel safe, respected, and ready to learn.

Establishing Safety Through Connection:
Tier 1 Strategies for Schoolwide Well-Being

While many schools focus on reactive crisis measures—like active shooter drills, threat assessments, and physical security upgrades—Establishing Safety takes a different, upstream approach. This half-day professional development training equips educators and staff with Tier 1 trauma-informed strategies to build emotionally safe, connected, and responsive school environments that reduce the conditions leading to pain-based behavior before it escalates.
 
Grounded in research from the CDC, APA, and ASCD on the critical role of school connectedness, this session helps educators create classrooms where every student feels seen, valued, and supported. Participants will learn how to build safety proactively through predictable routines, emotional regulation tools, and strategies like co-regulation, and the 5:1 ratio of positive interactions. These practices don’t just support learning—they help staff identify students who are hurting before that pain erupts into behavior that could harm themselves or others.
 
By fostering real connection and psychological safety through everyday Tier 1 strategies, this training offers a powerful, cost-effective way to reduce discipline incidents, improve mental health outcomes, and support a culture of early intervention and care. Participants will leave with practical tools to make “establishing safety” a daily reality—not a reactive response.