Presentations

Faculty and staff at the Alberti Center can present a wide variety of presentations on bullying in today’s schools and communities, exploring its impact upon students’ learning and sense of safety.  These presentations include practical solutions, interventions, and strategies, and resources for identifying and combating these challenges to promote a safe school climate.

Although technology and social media use can be positive for many teens, problematic media use and cyberbullying can be a concern for many parents, educators, and other professionals working with adolescents. This presentation will provide an overview on technology and social media use among children and teens, with a focus on cyberbullying. Specific strategies and resources will be shared for educators to prevent cyberbullying and promote safe and respectful behavior in online spaces.  

This workshop is a customized training on DASA for individual school districts’ administrators and DASA coordinators.

These customized sessions address the on-going training needs for school administrators and DASA coordinators. Content is determined through consultation with the district and those who will be attending the session. Previous DASA Follow-Up trainings have focused on: school social climate and its correlation to bullying and aggression; the difficulty of addressing allegations of bullying in a climate “where everything is bullying;” strategies that focus on the safety of the target as opposed to punishment of the bully; a deep dive into what constitutes a “material incident” of bullying; how to build relationships with parents of bullies and victims so that they become willing to support the school’s efforts to address the problem; social-emotional learning and bullying; and how to approach interventions that do not depend on harsh punishments for bullies.

As part of a balanced, comprehensive understanding of children’s mental health, it is important to not only examine the problems that interfere with functioning, but also to assess and build upon social-emotional strengths. Social-emotional skills create a sense of accomplishment, contribute to satisfying relationships, enhance the ability to cope with stress, and promote social and academic development. This presentation includes advantages of focusing on social-emotional strengths, an overview of strength-based assessment measures, and approaches to developing these strengths at the individual, small group, and school-wide levels.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health concern that merits continued monitoring and study.  This session will review current statistics on CSA, signs that a child is being abused, effects of CSA, characteristics of perpetrators and their grooming behaviors, and how to respond to a disclosure of CSA. Additionally, this session will review educational materials for parents and PreK-grade 5 educators that have been evaluated by the Alberti Center. Findings from these studies will explore the challenges and barriers faced by parents and educators as they attempt to protect children from CSA. Opportunities and needed changes to policy and practices will be discussed that protect children while supporting their development, as well as how to support parents in these efforts. This training is for professionals who work with CSA victims and their families, and who educate parents and teachers about CSA.

In addition to academic learning, educators are crucial in supporting their students’ social-emotional behavior. Now more than ever, mental health challenges and stress are a common concern for many students. This presentation will provide an overview of mental health needs among youth and how educators can identify and support students’ mental health. Specific strategies and resources will be shared on how to promote student well-being and alleviate distress within the classroom. 

Faculty and staff at the Alberti Center can present a wide variety of presentations for parents and families on bullying in today’s schools and communities. These presentations include an overview of bullying, the different forms of bullying, and signs that your child may be involved. The presentations also include practical solutions and strategies for parents and families regarding identifying, preventing, and intervening with bullying situations.

Although technology and social media use can be positive for many teens, problematic media use and cyberbullying can be a concern for many parents, educators, and other professionals working with adolescents. This presentation will provide an overview on technology and social media use among children and teens, with a focus on cyberbullying. Specific strategies and resources will be shared for parents to prevent cyberbullying and promote safe and respectful behavior in online spaces.  

Interdisciplinary research from the fields of education and psychology make it clear that we should be focusing on the social emotional health of children and adolescents. Social emotional skills create a sense of accomplishment, contribute to satisfying relationships, enhance the ability to cope with stress, and promote social and academic development. This session will describe the concept of social emotional learning, the importance of strength-based approaches, and what parents can do to enhance the social emotional strengths of children and adolescents. Resources are provided that can be utilized within home or educational settings.

Despite hearing the word bullying on a daily basis, we find that many students, teachers, parents and community members are left questioning what it really is. The consequences of bullying can loom large for perpetrators, victims and bystanders as well as the broader climate. This impact can be seen in both the short and long term. This talk is designed to briefly overview what bullying is and why we need to respond to it. In addition, particular attention is paid with regard to what individuals can do to prevent and intervene when it comes to bullying. This presentation is differentiated based on age of attendees as well as to address specific concerns within a particular setting. In addition, it can be adjusted to small groups with a variety of hands on learning activities as well as for larger assembly style presentations based on need.

Despite the fact that most students see and hear bullying (and sexual harassment) incidents when they occur, most do not intervene. There are many reasons for this, including fear of retaliation, not knowing what to do, and thinking that it is not their business. The Alberti Center has developed training for students of different ages (late elementary, middle, and high school) that leads them through the research-based 5 step model of bystander intervention. Using examples, discussion, videos, and role-plays, students learn about barriers to intervening and strategies to use in a variety of different situations. The entire training is 4 hours and is best delivered in groups no larger than 30 students (this can be broken up into smaller segments), although it can be modified for shorter time periods.

Cyberbullying is a subset of bullying that can be particularly difficult to manage due to the high rates of communication through electronic means in today’s society. The increased access and anonymity found in cyberbullying contribute to the complexity of the issue. This talk is designed to briefly overview bullying with a particular emphasis on cyberbullying. Prevention and intervention methods are a key component of this talk in an effort to empower audience members to find ways to decrease rates of cyberbullying and promote a more positive school and community climate. This talk can be adapted to a larger assembly style presentation or as a workshop depending on needs.