Professional Development

What is a compassionate classroom?

A compassionate classroom is one where the social/emotional needs and development of students is as important as their academic and intellectual development. It is a classroom where teachers and students co-create a sense of safety and mutual respect and where students are empowered to learn, grow and live up to their potential. A compassionate classroom is trauma informed and provides supports for students who have experienced trauma. Finally a compassionate classroom recognizes the importance of whole child development.

Creating Compassionate Classrooms

Is a seven part workshop series designed for in and out of school teachers or anyone in the youth development field. Workshops can be tailored to fit your organizational needs.

The Creating Compassionate Classrooms teacher professional development guides teachers in the 5 components of a compassionate classroom.

The Compassionate Classroom:

  1. Is trauma-informed

  2. Uses a restorative justice approach to discipline

  3. Incorporates social-emotional learning throughout the curriculum

  4. Builds strong relationships between students and teachers

  5. Practices cultural humility

Workshop Series

Workshop 1: The Trauma Responsive Educator

The trauma responsive educator workshop provides practical skills for understanding and responding to how traumatic experiences can show up in student behavior in the classroom or after school setting. Educators learn self-regulation, de-escalation and co-regulation tools to respond to trauma or stress related behaviors that restore emotional regulation and preserve relationships with students.

Workshop 2: Empathy and Skill Based Restorative Justice

This workshop explores the theoretical framework and history of restorative justice and provides practice for educators to lead restorative conversations that build empathy, teach emotional regulation tools, promote problem solving/conflict resolution skills, increase accountability, and restore relationships.

Workshop 3: Connection Before Correction

The connection before correction workshop uses a strengths-based approach to help educators identify strengths and skills they already use to build strong rapport and close relationships with students. Educators will role play scenarios to learn skills to connect with youth by identifying and building on youth strengths and learn to understand and re-frame challenging behaviors.

Workshop 4: Integrating Social Emotional Learning (2-part workshop)

Part One: Educators will explore social emotional learning according to the CASEL (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning) framework. Educators will plan creative ways to incorporate SEL throughout the curriculum and activities youth are already learning in the classroom or after school program.

Part Two: In the second workshop educators will create or revise one or two lesson plan activities to incorporate an SEL theme that their particular group of students needs to practice and learn. Educators should come prepared with a written lesson plan or idea they want to workshop.

Workshop 5: Teachers and Students as Storytellers: Cuentame un cuento (2-part workshop)

Cuentame un cuento is a Spanish phrase that means tell me a story. This workshop encourages educators to practice cultural humility and learn about the cultures of their students through the art of storytelling.

Part One: Educators will learn to tell a story about their own experience as a student to build empathy for one another and the youth they work with.

Part Two: Educators will practice leading connection/storytelling circles that provide opportunities for their students to share their stories in a way that helps educators to identify their biases, think about how culture shows up in learning spaces, and learn the tools of curiosity and humility. Cultural humility and storytelling can help educators make the most of their students cultural strengths, enhance relationships, and cultivate mutual respect and a sense of belonging.

Price Structure

  • Each workshop is 2 hours (2-part workshops = 4 hours total)

  • $1000 each workshop for up to 50 participants

  • Workshops available in person or online