2025 Summer Symposium

Ever feel like your emotions are a tangled mess, leaving you confused and overwhelmed? You're not alone! In this fast-paced, engaging one-hour session, we'll dive headfirst into the world of emotional literacy, providing you with the essential tools to understand and navigate your inner landscape. This crash course is designed for anyone who wants to better understand themselves and others. Whether you're a seasoned feeler or someone who struggles to connect with their emotions, you'll walk away with practical insights and actionable steps to improve your emotional intelligence.

Description: Our workshop Building Healing and Resilience Through Play demonstrates how play can help 
youth regulate, cope with stress, and build resilience. We teach school staff how to utilize coaching behaviors 
to teach resilience including Encouragement, Fostering a Growth Mindset, Emotion Coaching, and Participant 
Choice. 


Workshop Length: The workshop described below is one hour but can be extended to 90 minutes or 2 hours. 
Additional Topics include: “Understanding Stress, the Brain and Resilience” and “How to Coach Games to 
Build Resilience.”


Guiding Questions: 
How do we build resilience through play? 
How do we reduce stress?
How can school staff create safe and supportive environments that encourage emotional expression and choice through play?




Overview:
Welcome/Game/Overview- We will welcome participants and do an overview of Urban Initiatives and our&n

This session explores how culturally responsive SEL practices not only honor student identities but also serve as powerful tools for building resilience. By recognizing the cultural strengths and lived experiences students bring to the classroom, educators can create environments where all learners feel seen, valued, and empowered to thrive.

In this interactive and engaging session, you will learn 10 research-backed resiliency building techniques and tactics to motivate all students to practice them.  You will also be introduced to a prevention-based mental health curriculum, The Resilient Youth Program, and learn ways this program is being integrated into existing educational frameworks here in Illinois.

Post COVID, educator burnout and disruptive student behavior has soared to record highs. It has left fragile educational systems stretched to the max. In this session, audience members will gain a new lens, the Polyvagal Theory, through which to interpret the current state of education. Not only will participants be able to view the current crisis differently, they will begin to understand what needs to be done differently to effectively address the current moment.

Stress and intense emotions like anxiety, anger, and shame weigh on students and staff alike. Plus, many students seem to be lacking the frustration tolerance needed for academic success. While there are no quick fixes for life’s complex challenges, this hands-on workshop will provide an SEL toolbox refill…with a few takeaways for the child inside us all.

Words have impact! Harness the power of affirmations to enhance student relationships and classroom morale. In this workshop, learn how intentional affirming interactions can cultivate empathy, build trust, nurture students' strengths, and deepen connections, fostering inclusion and a sense of belonging. Using a healing-centered, strengths-based approach, you’ll master the art of delivering affirmations effectively and guiding students to support one another. Create a more affirming, inclusive, and positive classroom and school culture.