Heather T. Forbes, LCSW (@HeatherTForbes) will open our conference on Wednesday with her presentation, “The Trauma-Informed School.” Heather is the owner of the Beyond Consequences Institute and author of numerous books on the topic of working with children impacted by trauma. Heather’s presentation bridges the gap between academic research and “when the rubber hits the road” classroom situations, giving teachers and school personnel the understanding and tools they need for even the most challenging of students. Heather has worked in schools with trauma-impacted students and knows firsthand how challenging it can be on a day-in and day-out basis with these students. Additionally, much of her insight on understanding trauma, disruptive behaviors, and developmental delays comes from her own experience of raising two internationally adopted children and mentoring a severely trauma-impacted young adult.

Thursday Afternoon Keynote

Ken Williams (@unfoldthesoul) will kick off Institute’s Keynote Doubleheader Thursday morning with “Starting a Movement in a PLC: Building Culture from the Inside-Out,” based on his bestselling book of the same name written with Tom Hierck. This talk will focus on how to move from “doing PLC” to “becoming a PLC” by creating a culture of collective responsibility. Kenis the chief visionary officer of Unfold the Soul, an organization dedicated to helping schools both live their posters, and engage in practices that make equity actionable. A leading authority in the areas of collaboration, leadership, school culture, equity, and peak performance, Ken is skilled in joining the why of our work to the how of our work. Known for his provocative and engaging combination of ‘heart, humor, and hammer,’ Ken is an expert at helping schools build capacity in the collective commitments required of school culture’s aspiring to ensure high levels of learning for all students.

Friday Keynote

For those who want to pack even more learning into their conference, we're offering several pre-conference sessions Wednesday morning! The sessions will be held on Wednesday, February 5th at 10:00am. Choose one as an add-on in your Institute registration and receive extra CEUs! Pre-conference sessions will be announced soon!

Preconference session 1

Preconference session 2