Mental Health Issues in the School Setting

Jay Berk is a licensed psychologist and an expert in working with children, adolescents, and families. He also works with oppositional defiant children and their families, as well as social skills acquisition/groups for children and adolescents. In addition to providing therapy, he has provided training and workshops throughout the country to schools, agencies, and a variety of groups. He functions as a special consultant to the Screen Actors Guild in New York City on an ongoing basis and has provided many seminars each year for the parents and young performers.

Jay is a consultant, presenter, and therapist. He has been a consultant to the United Nations-UNICEF. He wrote a manual for UNICEF used by teachers to work with children throughout Bosnia during the war. Jay has been invited as a guest lecturer throughout the United States and the World. Some of these invitations have included The Royal Brisbane Hospital, Queensland, Australia, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne Australia, The University of London, the Cleveland Clinic, the Disney Channel, The Screen Actors Guild, The Young Professionals Organization, and many school districts and universities throughout the United States.

He is adept at treating children/adolescents in outpatient and residential programs. His experience includes working at several area children's homes and in private practice with individuals. In private practice, he conducts therapy with children, adolescents, families, couples, and adults. For more information, please see his web site http://jayberkphd.com/. Doctor Berk's 2009 conference topics are:

• Common classroom challenges of mental health issues
• Prevalent behaviors of students with mental health issues
• Strategic preventions and interventions for students with mental health issues
• Communication techniques that create a climate for success Strategies to promote learning for students with mental health issues
• The ABC’s of psychotropic medications
• Differentiating the side effects of medication from behavior problems
• Disciplining the special needs child
• Providing positive behavior support
• Strategies for the IEP team

Jay Berk, Ph.D.

Diversity and Inclusion

Timothy K. Eatman, Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Director for Research - Imagining America (IA) holds the Ph. D. in Higher Education Policy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He joined the Syracuse University community in the fall of 2007 after a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education. http://www.imaginingamerica.org/staff/bio_eatman.html

In addition to his work with Imagining America and while still in Michigan, Tim also served as an associate professor of education at Spring Arbor University, teaching graduate courses in research methods for the social sciences, integrating technology into teaching and the social foundations of education.  In addition he has worked as Associate Director for Research and Policy for the Academic Investment in Math and Science (AIMS) program at Bowling Green State University. This work emanates from Tim’s research interests in students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in higher education and the impact that their participation in research opportunity programs has on career trajectory. In this regard, he has a special research interest in students who aspire to careers in Science Math Engineering and Technology (SMET) disciplines and conducts research in this area. Eatman has published in various venues including the Journal of Educational Finance, Readings on Equal Education, and other book chapters and reports. Doctor Eatman's 2009 conference topics are:

• Definition and Goals of Multiculturalism
• The interrelationships between Ideology, Political Economy and schooling as essential foundational concepts of the American educational system.
• The role of critical introspection in multicultural education
• Essential elements of the rich multicultural classroom environment (RMCE)
• Dimensions of multicultural education
• Critical theoretical approaches to multicultural education
• The historical context of the achievement gap
• The role that Stereotypes play in education
• Curriculum for empowerment action and Change

Tim Eatman, Ph.D.

Working with Parents in
Diverse Learning Communities

Sue Nelle DeHart, Ed.D of Denton, Texas, and has been a professional educator since 1964 having served as a classroom teacher, teacher of the deaf, special education teacher, K-12 gifted and talented coordinator, curriculum consultant, assistant principal, elementary principal, central office administrator, and adjunct professor. As principal, her school, while being considered a low socioeconomic campus, was repeatedly recognized for its innovative techniques, inclusion practices, and outstanding academic gains of at-risk students.

Sue Nelle also has taught at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX and currently serves as a consultant for aha! Process, Inc. Doctor DeHart's 2009 topics are:

• Techniques in building mutual respect with parents
• Identify in your campus plan multiple approaches to parent involvement
• Develop strategies for conferencing with parents
• Look at the extent to which an external support system exists and is relevant to student success.
• Ways to help create community support for parents.
• Understanding that parents are not a single group but as distinct subgroups and how to work with these groups
• Investigation and development of principles for working with under- resourced or under-educated parents
• In-depth look at Dr. Ruby Payne's "Hidden Rules" that tend to govern decision making in poverty, middle class, and the poverty home.

Sue Nelle DeHart, Ed.D.

Effective Instruction and Student Motivation

Recognized as a dynamic and highly motivational speaker, Mark McLeod brings his knowledge of being one of Mississippi’s top administrators to school districts nationwide.    As a lifelong educator, his educational experiences include high school and middle school math teacher, coach and principal.  He was twice selected as Teacher of the Year in his district.  In 2002, he was selected as his district Administrator of the Year and Mississippi’s Region Four Administrator of the Year.  Mark gives dynamic and motivating presentations on classroom management and effective instruction.  He has presented at local, state, and regional conferences and has conducted numerous workshops and keynotes throughout the country. His topics include "Classroom Management", "Effective Teaching Strategies", "Developing and Teaching Classroom Rules and Procedures", "Qualities of Effective Teachers ", "Teaching Strategies that Motivate Middle School Students", "New Teacher Training ", "Substitute Training", "Motivating the Unmotivated Student", "Positive Strategies for Working with the Difficult Non-compliant Student", "Building a Positive School Climate", "Motivation/Team Building", "Best Practices of Successful Administrators" and "Middle Level Education". Mark's 2009 topics are:

• Effective questioning techniques to engage students and monitor student
• understanding
• Intervention strategies to promote win-win situations
• Motivational techniques to ensure student success and active participation
• Building of the community of learners through relationships and expectations
• Proactive classroom management strategies that create a safe and orderly environment
• Effective, efficient, and relevant instructional techniques
• Four stages of teaching
• Informal assessment techniques to check for understanding

Sam Stecher

Mark Johnson