School Leaders' Conference

Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders Announces. . .

Conference on
Behavior Issues for School Leaders

October 4 & 5, 2012
University of Kansas- Edwards Campus
Regnier Hall, 12600 Quivira Road
Overland Park, Kansas 66213

Accommodations at Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Overland Park, Kansas.

Download Conference Brochure and Register Now!
(Available Soon!)

Intended Audience. This conference is designed for Principals, Assistant or Associate Principals, Deans of Students, Lead Teachers, Behavior Teams, Special Education Directors or Coordinators, and other administrators.

Conference Goal. The conference will provide evidence-based information and practices to effectively work with behavioral challenged students and their families. Sessions will be tailored specifically for the needs of building leaders who are working to build positive student behavior, and meet the needs of students with behavioral needs in their schools.

Why a Conference for Building Leaders on "Behavior"? The expertise and support of principals, assistant or associate principal, and their behavior teams are crucial in working with students with behavioral needs! Little attention has been paid to principals' needs for knowledge and skills in working with their staff and their students regarding behavior and discipline issues, let alone how to prevent behavior problems and create a positive school climate. In order to meet academic goals for our students and for our schools, improving and supporting the behavior of students in school is an essential prerequisite!

Keynote Presentations

The Cycle of Tantrums, Rage, and Meltdowns: Prevention and Intervention.
Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D., International speaker and consultant for the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence
Stress and anxiety are common in children and youth with high functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome and is one of the most frequently observed symptoms in these individuals. The stress experienced by individuals with ASD may manifest itself in many ways, but it sometimes leads to tantrums, rage, and meltdowns. This escalating sequence seems to follow a three-stage cycle: (a) rumbling, (b) rage, and (c) recovery. This sequence can be problematic as many children and youth with ASD often endure the cycle unaware that they are under stress. This session will overview the cycle and discuss strategies that can be used at each stage. In addition, prevention strategies will be discussed Because of the combination of innate stress and anxiety and the difficulty that children and youth with ASD have in understanding how they feel, it is important that those who work and live with them understand the cycle of tantrums, rage, and meltdowns as well as interventions that can be used during this cycle.

Moving from Awareness to Sustainable Implementation of School-wide and Classroom Behavior Support.
Randy Sprick, Ph.D., Director, Lead consultant with Safe & Civil Schools
Conceptually, universal behavior support is relatively simple, but getting all staff members in a school to implement with fidelity is extremely challenging. Be sure that your leadership teams learn to address three areas: 1) processes-imbed a data-driven continuous-improvement cycle, 2) politics-involve the entire staff in choosing priorities for improvement, and 3) procedures-arm staff with more and more non-punitive intervention strategies to address identified priorities. Effective implementation can create a self-sustaining cycle: as the staff feels empowered with successful procedures it is increasingly easier to involve staff in the politics and processes of PBIS as a continuous cycle. Participants will leave with specific strategies for establishing or enhancing current Tier 1 implementation to improve school climate, increase student engagement, and reduce misbehavior. John Foster Dulles once said, "The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year." This session will focus on what is required to REALLY change the behavioral practices implemented by the entire staff.

PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Participants may choose to attend one of three sessions. Thursday Morning 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Refreshments and Box Lunch included; additional fee applies.
1. Avoiding Errors in IEP Development: What School Leaders Need to Know! Mitchell Yell, Ph.D., University of South Carolina, Columbia  Approximately 80% to 90% of all due process hearings involve issues of free appropriate public education (FAPE). Because students' IEPs are the blueprint of their FAPE, it is critical that school leaders understand the most serious errors that IEP teams make that can lead to violations of IDEA. A procedurally and substantively correct IEP ensures that a student receives a FAPE. On the other hand a procedurally and substantively flawed IEP can deny a student a FAPE, which may be found to be a violation of the IDEA. The purpose of this workshop is to examine the most common errors made by teams when developing students' special education programs and discuss ways to ensure that IEPs are both educationally meaningful and legally sound, this ensuring the provision of FAPE.

2. Providing Students with Significant Behavior a Means to Escape. Jennie Long, Ph.D., University of Kansas, Lawrence
The purpose of this presentation is to provide information to help educators delineate between behaviors. It has been assumed that children labeled "emotionally/behaviorally disordered" have used behavior to acquire attention or escape from tasks, with the "antecedent-behavior-consequence" documentation used to describe the behavioral interactions. Using a model developed by Bruce Perry, MD, Ph.D., the presenter will explain the neurobiological processes at work which may explain another form of behavioral representation known as "stimulus-response" which may explain the behavioral interactions in a way that can help staff align responses with the purpose of the individual. Strategies will be discussed to help empower educators to respond in a manner, which aligns with outcomes to increase the safety of students and educators alike.

3. Electronic Progress Monitoring and Determining Effects of Intervention. Kimberly Vannest, Ph.D., Texas A&M University Progress monitoring is an effective intervention, data collection tool, home-school communication, and an opportunity to measure response to intervention programs. This session will review the literature on DBRC and demonstrate the use of free and commercial Electronic Daily Behavior Report Cards and progress monitoring systems. A brief overview of Effect Size calculations for determining the magnitude of the behavior change will also be presented.

THE SCHEDULE

REGISTRATION COSTS
Conference Only: $255.00, starts Thursday at 1 PM; includes a box lunch on Friday, refreshments and materials
Preconference Workshop Only: $145.00, choose one workshop, refreshments, box lunch and materials
Preconference Workshop & Conference: $295.00, all of the above
Discounts available for groups of three or more.

HOTEL INFORMATION
The Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Overland Park (approximately 2 miles north of the KU Edward Campus) has a conference rate for King Guest Room $95.00/night or Double Queen Guest Room $109.00. Hot tub, pool, complimentary breakfast and many other amenities! 11400 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210; Phone: 913/344-8100; Fax: 913/344-8200; www.hawthorn.com. Cutoff date for room reservations: September 3, 2012.

TO REGISTER OR REVIEW BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Contact Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders, Keri Frey, P.O. Box 1683, Manhattan, KS 66505, 785-539-25252, fax 785-539-5232, manager@mslbd.org.

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