Looking for the Summer Institute?  Sorry for the bad link!  Try this one, and welcome!

WSTC Spring Institute

This event was formerly known as the "Interdisciplinary Conference" and is a Summer Institute-style training opportunity that focuses on high quality, concentrated professional development for non-teaching staff - health, education managers, family support, home visitors, etc.

Dates: May 9-11, 2012
Location: Red Lion, Bellevue, WA
Deadlines: Make your reservations now!
Registration: Click here to Register
Agenda: Below!
Fees: $180 for WSTC Members (ask Katy if you don't know if your program is a member), $260 for non-members
Accommodations: $95 + tax, , Red Lion Bellevue, 425-455-5240
Information: Email or call Katy Warren at 425-453-1227.

 

Courses offered, all 2.5 days:

Schedule and meals:

May 9 –

10am - Noon – Training

Noon-1pm – Lunch provided

1-5pm – Training

 

May 10 –

9am – Noon – Training

Noon-1pm – Lunch provided

1-5pm – Training

 

May 11 –

9am – Noon – Training

 

Track 1:  Responsive Management: Line-Level Leadership®

This is a hard-core management training!  Dick Baron, who many programs have worked with in the past on improving their supervision, communications, and overall management systems, will be doing this comprehensive training for supervisors and managers.  The curriculum will include:

  • Elements of managing performance.
  • How to change your personnel interview to identify what causes many of your problems as a supervisor.
  • The skill of Receiving Negative Feedback
  • The skill of Impact Analysis & Rationale Development
  • How to avoid the two most frequent errors made by Supervisors & Managers with providing Negative Performance Feedback.
  • The skills of preparing & providing Negative Performance Feedback
  • IDEAS® - (Idea Development, Exchange, And Selection) - Participants are introduced to a group process model to assist with IDEA generation, consensus development, and priority setting. Following a demonstration, participants practice the process in small group exercises. IDEAS® is particularly helpful for vision review and redefinition, goal setting, and refocusing disorganized or unsuccessful work-groups.
  • Definition, Purposes of a Meeting - Including Effective and Ineffective Use of Meetings,  General Inclusions/Exclusions & Developing a Meeting Agenda
  • Effective Leader Dialogue Behavior for Meetings

 

Track 2:  Beyond the Framework - Exploring Family Support Practice in a Changing Social, Political and Economic Environment. 

Deborah Northern, Puget Sound ESD is a frequent trainer for WSA, and always gets rave reviews!  Join this year’s Family Support track at the WSA Spring Institute 2012 as we explore our philosophy and practice in these key areas: 

  • Head Start Family Support Framework -

How can it work for your program, both Head Start and ECEAP?  Every program is in a different place with the Framework, but it can be useful to guide your work toward truly effective family engagement.

  • Maximizing Leadership Development: Promoting Strong Transitions for Families

How can we maximize the experiences, leadership development and education systems knowledge parents gain while involved in Head Start and ECEAP?  Finding motivating incentives to encourage participation in parent events and other program activities can be tough.  Whether involved on Policy Council or volunteering in the classroom, parents can gain numerous skills that can be highly beneficial for supporting the academic success of their children as well as transferrable, marketable job skills.  How do we assist and support families in recognizing, utilizing and maximizing these various opportunities available for skill development and training?  In this session, we will explore the array of opportunities present for family leadership development.  Guided by the research from the new Parent, Family, Community Engagement Framework, we will learn new strategies to showcase and promote volunteer opportunities in our programs and support parents as they assess what they have learned and how they can best use these skills for promoting school readiness and career development. 

  • The Harvest:  Thinking & Speaking From The Heart

Sometimes thinking out loud can be a strong mechanism for gaining clarity and direction in our Family Support work.  The problem is - we may not always find a group or individuals who want to listen.  In this culmination of learning and summarizing session, we will intentionally create a space and place to “think it through” and develop individual action plans for implementing new insights and perspectives learned at the Institute.  Utilizing the collective wisdom of colleagues from across the state through times of group Q & A, socratic conversations and pondering the “what if’s”, we will synthesize and strategize possibilities and potential in our work with families. 

  • Talk, Text or Tweet:  Exploring the Use of Social Media in Family Support Services

Social media is all around us.  It seems like most everyone is talking, texting, tweeting, on Facebook or want to be LinkedIn.   What does your social media presence look like in your work as Family Support?  Do you fan, friend or follow? Will you tag, text or tweet?  Is there an expectation for parents to do the same?  What impact does increased use of social media have on family engagement efforts in our programs?  What do we need to consider regarding technological equity?  Are there ethical or confidentiality considerations? Is there a digital divide among our families causing some to be unintentionally left behind?  Do all families have access to technology and understand the complexities of a technology-based, information-driven social environment?  Join this fun, interactive and informative session as we explore the realities, complexities and possibilities of using social media in our work.  Prepare to return to your program with new, innovative and inclusive tools and approaches you can use to connect and engage with families.