Thursday, July 9, 2009

Keynote:
Emotional Literacy in Catholic Education—Why Does it Matter?
Marc Brackett, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist and Associate Director, Health, Emotions, & Behavior Laboratory, Psychology; Director, Zigler Center Emotional Intelligence Unit, Yale University

Breakout Sessions:
A.  Emotional Literacy for Educators (morning session)
Marc Brackett, Ph.D.,Associate Research Scientist and Associate Director, Health, Emotions, & Behavior Laboratory, Psychology; Director, Zigler Center Emotional Intelligence Unit, Yale University

Emotions help us to think and make effective decisions, or they can derail our thinking and decision making if their information is not attended to and used. This session will describe an intervention program, Emotionally Literacy for Educators (ELE) program, for all educators. The ELE is an innovative, highly-interactive training program rooted in a “hard science” approach to what has historically been called “soft skills.” Teachers and staff learn how emotions impact student learning and performance, decision making, relationships, and work performance, and how they can harness the wisdom of emotions to become more effective teachers. The program series emphasizes the role and importance of five key emotional skills (Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulation Emotions) in academic performance, building quality relationships, making informed decisions, and managing and leading classrooms.

A. Emotional Literacy Matters: Supporting All Young Children Today, Building a Strong Foundation for the Future (afternoon session)
Marc Brackett, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist and Associate Director, Health, Emotions, & Behavior Laboratory, Psychology; Director, Zigler Center Emotional Intelligence Unit, Yale University

Emotions help students to think creatively, live healthy lives, make informed decisions, and perform well in school, or they can derail students in many ways. This session will describe Emotional Literacy in the Classroom (ELC) programs. In these programs, teachers learn how to integrate emotional literacy lessons into existing curricula. The programs are developmentally appropriate, rooted in psychological and educational theory, and have been tested both experimentally and in the field. The lessons are designed to both teach five key emotional literacy skills (Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating Emotions) and enhance key outcomes emphasized in national educational standards, including caring relationships, mental and physical health, and academic performance.

B. Instructional Strategies/Enriching Curriculum Grade 7-12(morning session)
Ruthanne Vitagliano Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education

B. Instructional Strategies/Enriching Curriculum Grade Pre K - 6 (afternoon session)
Ruthanne Vitagliano Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education

This session will look at best practices instructional strategies in making learning come alive for students in pre-K through grade 12.  Knowing how students learn, how teachers teach, how required and authentic assessment strategies can support a teacher in improving the learning environment, and how styles of learning and styles of teaching interact with assessment strategies. Come learn about practical strategies for exceptional teaching.

C. Best Practices in Bullying Prevention (morning session)
Joan Vitkus, Director, Midwest N.Y. Student Support Services Center

Safe, supportive and bullying-free schools are critical for students to achieve at high levels.  This session will explore best practices for preventing or reducing bullying and improving peer relations at a school. Best practices are derived from the work of Dan Olweus, developer of the internationally-recognized Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.

Based on the work and research of Dan Olweus, this session will explore a multileveled, multicompnonent school-based design that has been proven to prevent and reduce bullying and improve peer relations at school. This best practice of evidenced-based design is recognized as one of only eleven nationally-recognized Blueprints for Violence Prevention Programs and as an Exemplary Program by SAMHSA.

C. Supporting Healthy Sexuality through Social and Emotional Learning (afternoon session)
Kim McLaughlin, Executive Director, NYS Student Support Services Center
Desiree Voorhies, Coordinator, NYS Student Support Services Center

New York State has a new mental health plan including recommended guidelines for schools on social and emotional learning and development. Come learn about social and emotional learning and best practices and what it looks like in the healthy sexual development of our youth.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Keynote:
Like a Fire in the Night  (William Blake)
Carol Cimino, SSJ, Ed.D., National Consultant, Author, and Teacher

Raking the embers of the past and preparing a new fire for the future, the challenge for Catholic school leaders is to recognize what needs to be saved and what needs to be reborn.  By understanding this potentially painful process, we can ensure a hopeful future for Catholic schools.

Since this is the 20th Annual Institute, this session will cover what Catholic education has experienced since 1989, when it was on the cusp of the last decade of the 20th century. Using what we have learned over the past 20 years, we can forge a new era in Catholic education, honoring the embers of the past and the new fire lighting the way to a bright future in the 21st century.

Our past has taught us that many of the forms and modalities in which Catholic schools operated are no longer viable. If we are to believe that, the schools are worth saving and improving. Catholic school leaders will have to capitalize on the schools’ successes and utilize new and radical tools to re-find them in order to meet not just today’s needs, but the needs of future generations.

By taking the long view, Catholic school leaders can light new fires that show the way to teachers, students, parents, and the Church at large, and that ensure the lasting legacy of this essential work.

Breakout Sessions:
D. Scratching the Surface: Creating a Catholic Culture (morning session)
Carol Cimino, SSJ, Ed.D., National Consultant, Author, and Teacher

This session will explore the "deep down" of what makes Catholic schools truly unique and special by presenting the elements that must be present so that we provide a culture, not a cult.

D. To Boldly Go (afternoon session)
Carol Cimino, SSJ, Ed.D., National Consultant, Author, and Teacher

This session will explore what steps we need to take as we absorb the reality that is Catholic education today and how to live up to our responsibility to keep Catholic schools and their mission alive.

E. Relationships-Proudly Catholic-Fiercely Open (morning and afternoon sessions)
Patrick Fox, Director of Faith Formation; Consultant, St. Joseph Parish, Penfield, N.Y.

Wonderfully blessed to grow in grace in our community of faith, this session will explore our rooted tradition that calls us to reach out, honor others, seek community, and foster growth in faith and wisdom before God and one another.  Special emphasis will be placed on modern media and methods as a means to enable us to be better stewards of our faith and better teachers and mentors for students and families. This session will discuss ways to connect schools, parishes and other faith communities and more.

F. Throwing Light on the ‘Dark Side of the Good News’—What Role Does Church Law Have for the Contemporary Church? (morning and afternoon sessions)
Rev. Kevin E. McKenna, J.C.D., pastor of the Cathedral Community of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Canon Lawyer

The call of the Church since the Second Vatican Council has been toward communion—
communion with Christ, communion among companion pilgrims on the journey to the kingdom, and communion between local churches. The concept of communion provides a structure and path in which each member’s unique individuality, talent, and gifts can be respected, esteemed, and creatively developed for service. But this can only happen when the rights of individuals within the community are respected and protected.

Many see the emphasis on the rights for all Church members as one of the most important contributions of the revised Code of Canon Law issued in 1993. Since the promulgation of the Code, there has been an effort to reenergize the institution of Canon Law with a vital focus and function. In many ways, this organism of church law, though at times cumbersome and unpredictable, offers one of the best possibilities for encapsulating the insights of the Second Vatican Council due to its emphasis on large-scale collaboration and consultation in the local Church.

The presentations will attempt to give concrete and practical examples of the values and purpose of law as an instrument of collaboration in today’s Church with its emphasis on the rights and dignity of the human person and the Christian Community. The two sessions will include the following topics:
1. Where did our Church legal system come from?
2. Eleven things you need to know about Canon Law and how it works.
3. What are our rights in the Church and how do we vindicate those rights?