Facilitator Training Times have changed. The kinds and numbers of crises we face in schools make it crucial for school staff to have skills in helping students cope. When life events overwhelm students, their capacity to learn is impaired until we help them cope and come to terms with the loss or event. This professional development opportunity allows a district to send a few people who will take on leadership in the area of crisis response, emergency preparedness and staff development. People who attend this workshop can become key “go to” people in your district to keep your readiness high and skills honed. The Institutes for Facilitator Training involve 30 hours of training and technical assistance, providing participants with the background and materials to return to their districts and facilitate this curriculum in a variety of ways: Use for teacher and staff inservice Create the Rapid Response Team organization in each building Use for continuing professional development Take your district plan and response capacity to the next level It is suggested that a team of three to five staff members from a given district or educational services agency attend the training as a team. They are then prepared to return as leaders in their districts or regions, to take staff "to the next level" of prevention, readiness and response. Training Locations & Scheduling We offer Institutes for facilitator training in Oregon annually, or we can bring them to your area. Institutes are sometimes organized into a single week or can be taught in two sessions separated by 2 to 4 weeks. We know it is difficult for people to be out of their buildings too many days in a row. When organizing these Institutes, we can be flexible in a way that meets your needs. Some institutes begin on a Wednesday evening at dinner and run morning, afternoon and evening sessions through Sunday afternoon. We can be very creative in scheduling. We are also currently creating online learning options for some portions of the training so people will get the full benefit of the entire program whiole requiring much less time out of the building. Team Composition Each district team of Facilitator Trainees should include counselors, school psychologists and/or people with terrific counseling skills. Because implementing change and adding sophistication to existing crisis plans can often meet obsticles along the way, we encourage you to send a large enough core group of people that they have the critical mass needed for mutual support as each attempts to meet your goals. The Role of ESAs & Other County-wide Educational Organizations & Agencies Facilitator Training reaches its highest level of efficacy when ESAs (IUs, ESDs, BOCES and other county-wide educational organizations) sponsor Flight Team Training at the ESA level and then organize Facilitator Trainings to serve a group of ESAs in one region or area. This allows ESAs to become the critical source for all of your districts in crisis response, violence prevention and safe schools training and coordination. If a region is interested in this type of model, CMI will offer the Facilitator Training at your site. There are many benefits of this level of coordination. It allows all of your districts to have a common reference, training and practice for responding to crisis. As staff take new positions in nearby districts, there is a seamless transition as the team concept is uniform across the county. The districts share the costs of training, which makes this very affordable for the districts while your contribution is the organization of the training and encouragement of collaboration. Please contact CMI for more information specific to ESAs and county-wide agencies. Colleges and Universities This curriculum would create or enhance classes you currently offer in crisis response for school staff at any level from administrative to teaching to support staff. Professors and instructors are welcome to join in our Facilitator Training institutes. Training Content The Facilitator Training includes 25 segments. These segment topics enhance staff ability to respond to all kinds of crises, tragedies and challenges. The intent of this training is to help staff change your school culture in a positive way, to enhance your capacity to respond to crises, and to "generalize" higher levels of skills throughout all district staff while addressing and focusing upon prevention. Titles of the twenty five segments include: Organizational Options Children (Youth) in Grief Needs of Youth in Grief Empty Desk: One Student Loses a Family Member Suicide Prevention Warning Signs for Suicide Missing Students Announcements Function of a Safe Room Activities for Processing Loss/Grief Handling the Classroom on Crisis Day Guidelines for Teachers on Crisis Day Memory Events Effects of Trauma on Individuals Prevention of Trauma Follow-up for Staff and Students Self-Care Managing the Media Signs of Need for Professional Help Identifying Depression Terminal Illness Students Attending First Funeral Teachable Moments Parent Communications Additional Details Facilitator Trainings are rigorous and somewhat demanding. There are many additional details that go into making this process work. This is not the same as a Training of Trainers, but is well-planned and organized to deliver a very high standard of training while recognizing that the expertise and level of prior experience on the part of Facilitators will vary greatly. There are special requirements for this program, so we invite you to be in touch with CMI staff for additional information specific to Facilitator Training. In addition, it is recommended that a team of three of more people from the same district attend the training together. For greatest results, have one person from school in the district trained. It is extremely difficult for a single person to implement this training at the district level. Who Should Come Participants should, at least to some degree, come because they are interested in this content and in having a key role in the district in the area of prevention, crisis response and school climate. Most participants who are assigned to come and don’t wish to be there are not effective upon return to the district. When carefully chosen, participants who come in groups can work together to further a district’s preparedness and capacity to respond well. The payoff is ongoing for the district over years. Scheduling Institutes Institutes can be scheduled any time of year and in any location that works for you if adequate numbers of participants are guaranteed. Contact us online to schedule an Institute in your area.