“Inclusion in the Classroom” is a professional development training for teaching artists, classroom teachers, care providers and families that work with individuals with learning disabilities. It provides examples of best practices for the utilization of specific tools and techniques to use in special education and inclusive classrooms, along with strategies to use at home.

Participants will be able to develop curriculums that align with state standards and developmental objectives, utilize Picture Exchange Communication, and introduce creative ways of engagement to enhance students' learning experience.

This dynamic workshop encourages educators to develop creative communication skills by practicing techniques of pantomime, voice fluctuation, gesture, eye contact, body language, and timing, bringing the art of teaching to a new level of creative expression. The activities in this workshop offer new insights that connect any content area of TEKS to storytelling. Dan Gordon is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Drama and Creative Writing. As a professional storyteller, he has toured the U.S., Israel and Australia, educating and inspiring audiences of all ages with his adaptations of traditional folklore and original personal narratives.

Often, we neglect the social things (relationships, community, inte(a)r-personal communication, etc.) that significantly impact workplace and classroom culture. This Professional Development (PD) is designed to support and empower professionals and other supports as they journey with their youth to social and emotional (SE) wellness.  Sweating the social stuff aims to shift culture, explore equity, teach practical self-regulation and grounding techniques, build community, and proactively plan for SE wellness inside and outside of our respective classrooms. This is done through the utilization of grounding/mindfulness practices, bias assessments, reflection, and feedback protocols, and deliberate practice.

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​Soulliaa holds a Master's of Social Work from Tulane University, a Master's of Science - Disaster Resilience Leadership from Tulane University, A Master's Degree in Education, Secondary Science, and  Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Africana Studies from The University of Houston.

This professional development session equips K–12 educators and staff with practical strategies to integrate Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into daily school life. Facilitated by a licensed social worker with experience as a teacher, school counselor, and administrator, the training blends research-based practices with real-world application.

Participants will explore the CASEL SEL framework, trauma-informed approaches, and techniques to support both student and staff well-being. Emphasis is placed on culturally responsive practices, classroom strategies for emotional regulation, and fostering a positive, inclusive school climate.

Key Takeaways:

Understand SEL’s impact on learning and behavior
Apply trauma-sensitive and restorative practices
Support student mental health and adult resilience
Build strong relationships and a culture of care

Capture your student’s attention with the power of puppetry. This hands-on professional development workshop shares creative ideas for adding the excitement of several styles of puppetry into any lesson plan. Explore the ancient world of shadow puppetry, a fast, easy, fun and affordable way to create endless puppetry possibilities. Also, learn techniques for making and teaching with puppets using recycled and found objects. Turn trash into treasure and help save the planet! Greg Ruhe is the director of Puppet Pizzazz, a company dedicated to providing quality educational puppet performances and workshops around the world.

Hope Shiver helps teachers discover simple ways to give a dramatic twist to math, language arts, social studies, and science. She shows that any lesson can use drama to address topics such as phonics, analysis, vocabulary, sequencing, physical landforms, culture, problem solving, computation, physical and chemical properties, systems and the food chain. Hope Shiver has a Master of Music Degree from the University of Oregon, and is a winner of the Madame Rose Vocal Competition and George Hawkins Playwriting Award. She enjoys a diverse career performing as an opera a musical theatre singer, actress, writer and music educator.

Does your institution strive to decrease your failure rate? Are you struggling to reach all learners? Are your classes full of wiggle worms who have a hard time getting focused?  Moving Classrooms, a documented system to engage elementary and middle school students by using movement to stimulate learning, is the answer you seek! Teachers meet in a large group and then break out into smaller PLCs. Virtual Option available, 1-3 hours.

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Moving classrooms professional development program that is designed to:  

• Increase academic success 

• Reach all learners 

• Touch on all learning styles 

• Differentiate instruction  

• Increase student engagement 

• Build self-esteem

Participants experience using music, fine art and literary forms to enliven curriculum and make learning more meaningful to students. Learn specific strategies for connecting language arts, music and fine art. Utilizing a variety of music styles, participants will discern mood words that best define what they are hearing or feeling. Thus begins a vocabulary list that is then added to one derived from the viewing of one or more pieces of art in varying media. Working in small teams, participants choose one or more literary forms to create using the generated vocabulary. Jean Donatto bridges the world of modern singers and classical composers and visual artists by showing that both, in the past and the present, live exciting and varied lives while contributing positively to world culture. Add meaning to curriculum through the music and art of your student’s generation and find the connection between classical and modern artists.

Open Dance Project is a contemporary dance theater company whose highly stylized performance experiences break down conventional barriers between artist and audience to make dance more accessible and meaningful for both. Professional development workshops, led by ODP Artistic Director Annie Arnoult, explores the boundaries of dance education to deepening the learning process through integration dance across the curriculum. Topics include STEAM dance, Building Transitions in the classroom, Exploring Creative Dance Education, and more.

Arts integration is an approach to teaching and learning through which content standards are taught and assessed equitably in and through the arts. Students engage in a creative process that connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both. This professional development can be presented as an introduction to Arts Integration or a more in-depth approach for the seasoned staff and is for core and specials teachers in PK-12 education. Arts Integration Unlimited empowers teachers by providing tangible resources for direct implementation in the classroom.

Benefits of Arts Integrated Instruction:

·      Improves Test Scores

·      Positive effect on Student Attendance

·      Improvement of Student Thinking Skills, Reasoning Abilities, and Organization Levels

·      Decreases the Achievement Gap

·      Creates Equity

·      Increases Cultural and Community Awareness

·      Enhanced Social and Emotional (SEL) Skills

Tom Wilbeck is a Licensed Professional Counselor, trainer and performer who has been delivering therapeutic and educational intervention since 1995.  He is currently in private practice as a child and adolescent therapist, licensed by the Texas State Board of Examiners and specializes in play therapy.  Tom has also been a trainer for groups ranging from Exxon, Coca Cola, and NASA to early childhood education audiences in the greater Houston area. Participants will explore the developmental, behavioral, and emotional readiness of the students we serve. Participants will explore the practice of integrating music in the classroom through multidisciplinary cooperation, the use of recorded music, and the use of performed music. Topics include: Brain Development, Behavioral Science, Emotional Readiness, Multidisciplinary Cooperation, Using Recorded Music, and Using Performed Music. This PD is presented utilizing lecture, discussion, activity, implementation, and informal assessment and is tailored to either core and specials teachers or specialists only who teach grades ranging from EC-5th.  This PD is available as a 2 hour, 3 hour, and full day session.

This professional development for teachers focuses on teamwork and communication and includes hands-on activities for teachers of all content areas. Tom Wilbeck is a Licensed Professional Counselor, trainer and performer who has been delivering therapeutic and educational intervention since 1995.  He is currently in private practice as a child and adolescent therapist, licensed by the Texas State Board of Examiners and specializes in play therapy.  Tom has also been a trainer for groups ranging from Exxon, Coca Cola, and NASA to early childhood education audiences in the greater Houston area. Participants will explore the developmental, behavioral, and emotional readiness of the students we serve.  This PD is available as a 2 hour, 3 hour, and full day session.