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Professional Development for Teachers and Administrators

Join Shannon McClure and Dawn Menken for innovative and energizing continuing education for teachers!

Program Overview

Friday, October 11, 2019 – 8.30 – 3pm

• Hip Hop Slam for Teachers of Language Arts
• Working with the Dynamics of Rank and Power in the Classroom

These complimentary trainings will support teachers to engage with students impacted by systemic, historical and personal trauma. The morning segment utilizes slam poetry as a way to engage students on their own terms. The afternoon highlights the dynamics of rank and power and offers new methods of interaction that empower students as well as teachers.

Full day only

Hip Hop Slam for Teachers of Language Arts

We will begin by looking at data for communities most impacted by trauma from a historical and cultural context. Participants will review different modes of Hip Hop as a form of self-expression for historically marginalized students.

• Explore Poetry Slam as a HHBP for addressing trauma within impacted communities based on your current data
• What does Maya Angelou, Tribe Called Quest, and bell hooks have to say about HHBP?
• Participants will practice writing and performing a piece with the group that is situated within the “Writer’s Workshop” model that many teachers already find familiar in their practice
• Discussion about the power of cultural capital to transform learning experiences
• Allowing trauma impacted students to become the experts in their classrooms
• Review Data for how trauma informed teaching closes achievement gap

Working with the Dynamics of Rank and Power in the Classroom

When working with youth it is essential that we learn to use power well and simultaneously empower our students. At the heart of trauma is often the misuse of power. This training will help us to navigate and explore power and rank and introduce a variety of creative interventions.

• Explore and support teachers to use power well by connecting to our own unique personal powers
• Understand and embrace different kinds of power: social, structural, contextual and personal
• Learn to use rank as a teacher and leader in the classroom
• Dynamics of power: low and high rank awareness and relationship fluidity
• Group roles and power dynamics
• How to support youth in their own power without getting triggered while having a trauma-informed understanding

Thursday, October 24, 2019 – 9.30 – 5.30pm

• Engaging “Star Disturbers” 9:30am-1pm
• Youth Leadership in your Classroom and Beyond, 2-5:30pm

School environments are evermore asked to engage students as stakeholders in school improvement. At the same time how can we engage our most troubled or troublesome students? This day offers perspectives that reframe the concept of “disturbance” to offer new ways to understand and interact with students who disturb, challenge or create problems in the classroom. The morning session will help teachers to see, interact and reveal the potential meaning and value in disturbing behavior. In the afternoon we will learn to empower youth to be agents of change through leadership via skillful facilitation.

Half day registration available

Morning Segment 9:30am-1pm

Engaging “Star Disturbers”

Students who disturb the classroom are a frequent challenge for educators. This segment will focus on:

• New ideas and interventions to work with students who disturb and challenge classroom norms
• Interventions that both empower and challenge disturbers
• Understanding the disturber as a “star” that might have something useful for the group
• Using power well and being fluid in the teacher role
• Star disturbers and their potential relationship needs
• The role of star disturbers in the personal growth of the teacher
• Dealing with threats or threatening behavior

Afternoon Segment 2-5:30pm

Youth Leadership in Your Classroom and Beyond

This segment will support adults in educational settings to empower youth to be agents of change. Participants will learn how to create a space for students to take on leadership within their school community and at the same time offer life skills. Training will include:

• Gathering feedback from youth to prioritize opportunities for change
• Activities to build empathy among your youth leadership team
• Group facilitation from “The Backseat”
• 9 Healthy Ways of Communication (Lee Mun Wah)
• “Signposting” models for students to discovery in their practice
• Exploring examples of student led organizations that have sustained over time (SMYRC)
• Power Mapping to identify the audience for youth leadership
• Incentive programs to increase engagement of marginalized students

Venue: Process Work Institute, 2049 NW Hoyt, Portland

Dates and Times: 

Friday, October 11, 2019 – 8.30 – 3pm

Thursday, October 24, 2019 – 9.30 – 5.30pm

Delivery Method: In-Person Only

Registration and Fees

Oct 11th Early Registration Full Day $250, until September 27th, thereafter $285.

Oct 24th Early Registration Full Day $250 until October 10th, thereafter $285.

Oct 24th Half Day – $145. 

CEU Credits:  1 training day is awarded 1 CEU, a half-day .5

Register Online: Registration Link or call 503 223 8188

About your Instructors

Shannon McClure, is a licensed youth and adult educator, currently acting as a school coach with the Regional Arts and Culture Council and through their own consulting firm called Our Turn. They have worked as a classroom teacher, art teacher, and assistant principal in Portland Public schools, focusing on leadership for Racial and Gender Equity and Transformative Justice. They also have experience working with artists and activists in our community that seek to engage with youth. Advocacy is a passion, and frequently collaborate with organizations in Portland that offer experiential learning and support services to LGBTQ youth and marginalized populations. They reside in North Portland with their son who is a Jefferson High School student. In their free time, Shannon can be found in their ceramics studio throwing on the wheel or out on muddy Oregon trails. 

Dawn Menken, Ph.D., is a conflict resolution educator, counselor, facilitator, and workshop presenter. She is a senior faculty member in the graduate program at the Process Work Institute in Portland, Oregon and was co-creator of its masters programs, serving as academic dean for ten years. She is the creator of Teens Rise Up (TRU), a cutting edge program that empowers and educates young people to step into their leadership, engage in honest dialogue, and co-create a more welcoming school community. She is the author of the award winning book, Raising Parents Raising Kids: Hands on Wisdom for the Next Generation. A dynamic teacher with a sharp mind and playful spirit, Dawn enjoys working with people from all cultures and backgrounds.  For more information see her website: www.dawnmenken.com