2025 Summer Symposium

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.

Felt safety is a relatively new term in education. It contrasts with concepts of school safety that are focused on securing the school environment or reducing violent incidents and physical harm. These valid school safety efforts (i.e. active shooter drills, fire drills, metal detectors, resource officers, locked doors, bullet-proof glass, etc) remind us that danger is ever-lurking. In this conference session, participants learn and experience the concept of felt–safety — a regulated state in the body. They gain an embodied understanding of how this ventral vagal state supports sequential brain development and prosocial behaviors in the classroom (adult and student).

Teaching is rewarding but also demanding. Together, we will explore practical strategies to create internal happiness, set healthy boundaries, and maintain a positive mindset. Learn how to harness gratitude, manage stress, and reclaim your energy to thrive both inside and outside the classroom. Let’s shift from surviving to thriving—because happy educators create happy classrooms!