Part of the Graduate School of Education
Annual Conference
Through our annual conference, you can gain access to timely, essential information on bullying, victimization and related issues that can be utilized in school and community settings.
Questions?
Contact us at
alberticenter@buffalo.edu or call us at 716-645-1532 with any questions or concerns.
“Research-Informed Bullying Preventions: Social-Emotional Learning and School Climate Improvement Approaches”
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Classics V Banquet Facility
2425 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst, NY
Register Now
Our conference program includes a morning keynote presentation and a choice of afternoon breakout sessions. Your registration fee includes a continental breakfast and a buffet-style lunch.
- Professionals: $75 per person or $550 per table of eight
- Students: $35 per person
CPD Credits and NYSED Contact Hours
Continuing professional development (CPD) credits are available, approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).
Contact hours are also available for New York State Education Department (NYSED) licensed master/clinical health care workers and licensed mental health counselors.
NYSED LMSW, LCSW and LMHC Contact Hours
New York Social Workers: University at Buffalo School of Social Work Office of Continuing Education is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0001). Full attendance is required for the morning keynote; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance. Three live in-person contact hours are approved.
New York Mental Health Counselors: University at Buffalo School of Social Work Office of Continuing Education is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0008). Full attendance is required for the morning keynote; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance. Three live in-person contact hours are approved.
Keynote Presentation
The Everyday Bullying of Microaggressions: Recognizing and Intervening
Espelage will review two decades of research on school bullying, sexual violence and gender-based harassment. Definitions, prevalence rates and outcomes will be discussed with a particular focus on translating these research findings into prevention and intervention efforts in schools and communities. Evidence-based prevention programs will be highlighted, and implementation and sustainability issues of school-based programs will also be discussed.
- Understand the types and prevalence of bullying and sexual violence.
- Identify risk and protective factors associated with involvement in bullying and sexual violence.
- Identify evidence-based and developmentally-appropriate interventions to prevent bullying and sexual violence.
Dorothy L. Espelage, PhD
William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education
University of North Carolina
More About Dorothy Espelage
Dorothy L. Espelage, PhD, is William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina. She is the recipient of the APA Lifetime Achievement Award in Prevention Science and the 2016 APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy, and is a Fellow of APS, APA and AERA. She was recently elected to the National Academy of Education. She earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Indiana University in 1997.
Over the last 22 years, Espelage has authored over 190 peer-reviewed articles, six edited books, and 70 chapters on bullying, homophobic teasing, sexual harassment, dating violence and gang violence. Her research focuses on translating empirical findings into prevention and intervention programming and she has secured over twelve million dollars of external funding.
Espelage advises members of Congress and Senate on bully prevention legislation. She conducts regular webinars for CDC, NIH and NIJ to disseminate research.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Creating the MTSS Umbrella for Student Success
Presenter:
Ross Esslinger, Principal | Iroquois Middle School
Co-presenters:
Catherine Stojanovich, Math teacher
Keith Marshall, ELA teacher
Kristin Witkowski, Literacy specialist
Sara VanNortwick, Math specialist
Introduction:
Mary Jo Dudek, EdD, Assistant Superintendent | Iroquois Central School District
Recent federal regulations regarding ESSA highlight the need to design individualized educational experiences (academic/social, emotional, behavioral). The question on everyone's agenda is "Why is the student not performing?". During this session, attendees will learn about one school's journey to answer this question as they progressed in their MTSS implementation.
Ross Esslinger is a former physical education teacher and has served as the Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics, Assistant Principal and now is currently the principal of Iroquois Middle School. Ross also serves on the board of the EMW Boys & Girls Club and is a member of the New York State RtI Technical Center. He currently lives in the Iroquois Central School District with his wife and three children. Ross will be presenting with four Iroquois Middle School teachers.
The Integration of Social-Emotional Learning and Bullying Prevention: Where to Begin?
Stephanie S. Fredrick, PhD, NCSP, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention | University at Buffalo
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a preventative school-wide framework that focuses on teaching specific skills to promote positive youth development. There has been substantial progress in establishing SEL as part of education policy and many states have now adopted SEL standards that range from PreK to 12th grade. SEL is a promising framework for schools to adopt in their bullying prevention efforts. However, developing a systemic SEL framework at the school or district level can be daunting and there are several approaches, as well as barriers, to implementation. This session will provide attendees with an overview of SEL, strategies for developing a universal framework from the ground up, and how to integrate and align SEL and bullying prevention efforts.
Stephanie Fredrick is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology and associate director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo. She is a licensed psychologist and a nationally certified school psychologist. She previously worked as a school psychologist in Illinois and has consulted with schools on SEL, bullying prevention and school climate. Broadly, her research investigates how schools, families and communities can prevent peer victimization and increase resiliency, protective factors and positive bystander behavior.
Restorative Practice: A Whole School Response to Bullying
Dina Thompson, Executive Director | Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition
Restorative Practices are a set of informal and formal strategies intended to build relationships and a sense of community to prevent conflict and wrongdoing . These preventative strategies include schoolwide community or relationship building circles, the use of restorative language and restorative conferencing. These approaches focus on how to treat each other respectfully and when disrespectful behaviors, such as bullying occur, provide explicit guidelines for students and staff on their interactions with one another in a dignified, problem-solving manner. In this workshop we will examine how to build a classroom community and develop responsive strategies including the use of Restorative Questions within a circle or conferencing format.
Dina Thompson is the executive director and founding member of Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition and a UB Department of Social Work adjunct professor. Dina implemented Restorative Practices at a K-8 building in Buffalo as coordinator of Family & Community Engagement and In School Suspension. She has trained over forty schools and hundreds of community members in Restorative Practices. Through collaboration with other community-based organizations and the Buffalo Police Department, Dina supports four regional practice sessions for restorative justice practitioners and has coordinated Restorative Justice Day in Buffalo for the past four years.
New York State Legislation Pertaining to Bullying and Harassment
Andrew Freedman, Attorney | Hodgson Russ
Schedule
| 8:00 a.m. | Check-In | Continental Breakfast | Exhibit Tables |
|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks |
| 8:45 a.m. | Keynote Presentation (Part 1) Research-informed bullying prevention: Social-emotional learning & school climate improvement approaches Dorothy L. Espelage, PhD |
| 10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30 a.m. | Keynote Presentation (Part 2) Research-informed bullying prevention: Social-emotional learning & school climate improvement approaches Dorothy L. Espelage, PhD |
| 12:00 p.m. | Break |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch and Networking |
| 1:15 p.m. |
|
| 2:45 p.m. | Closing Remarks |