January 29, 2010

Workshop to address crisis prevention in schools

by K.C. Jaehnig

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Public school counselors, teachers, staff and superintendents can learn to prepare for the unthinkable occurring in their classrooms at a daylong workshop to be held Friday, Feb. 5, in Room 228 of the Wham Building on the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus.

Co-sponsored by SIUC’s Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education and the School of Social Work, the “Crisis Prevention in the Schools” workshop will carry continuing education credit for both counselors and social workers.

While organizers would prefer that participants pre-register, they will take registrations beginning at 8 a.m. the day of the conference if they have seats available.

“Research indicates that outcomes tend to be poor when there’s no plan in place for a crisis -- people freeze or panic because they don’t know what to do,” said Kim Asner-Self of the ed psych department, who with colleague Brett E. Zyromski, will lead the workshop.

“In the morning session, we will focus on how to set up lines of communication before a crisis occurs.  In the afternoon we will take about the needs of the key players -- what kinds of things can be triggered in faculty and staff, how kids respond, what’s normal and what’s not, because some things that look abnormal aren’t.”

The workshop costs $110 ($100 for Illinois Counselor Educators and Supervisors members, $55 for students).  To pre-register, call Cathy Earnhart at 618/536-7763 or 618/453-2311 or e-mail her at pern@siu.edu.