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Differentiated Discipline that Teaches Responsibility
and Promotes Student Success

Presented by Mark Johnson and Sam Stecher

Mark taught 5th grade at Windy Hills Elementary for 12 years before accepting a principal position at Glenwood Elementary for Kearney Public Schools. His passion for education is growing exponentially. He blends humor, a family atmosphere, and the spirit of Elvis to build relationships with his students, but most importantly, to help support them in the #1 Position of their learning. As a presenter, Mark tells stories and uses real-life examples from his classroom and his family (he is married with three children) to help spread his message. Mark received the "2004 Milken National Educator Award" for the state of Nebraska.

Sam has been teaching and coaching for Kearney Public Schools since 1997. Currently he teaches American History at Horizon Middle School. Ask him about his school and you are sure to hear the words "family" and "totally rocks" in his description. Sam has taught two grade levels in three subject areas and everything from self defense to yearbook in exploration classes. He brings passion, energy, and on occasion a 140 pound Rottweiler to his classroom. His mission is make learning a conscience choice on the part of the student. As a presenter Sam has a rapid fire, fast paced, skills based message. You can also read some of Sam's thoughts in the books Tales of Successes with Kids and Teachers Have It Easy.

website: http://www.tnop.net/who.html

Helping Kids Get Along: 
What School Staff Can Do To Reduce Student Cruelty and
Enhance Caring and Connected Relationships

Presented by Marcia McEvoy PhD

Marcia is a licensed psychologist who has worked in a variety of professional settings including public schools, community mental health, a child guidance clinic, and two universities. She has been a clinician, prevention specialist, lecturer, author, and university instructor. She presently owns her own private consulting business. Dr. McEvoy is an expert in the area of violence prevention, including the prevention of youth suicide. She is the co-author of a book entitled Preventing Youth Suicide: A Handbook for Educators and Human Service Professionals. She is currently co-authoring a book on the prevention of school-based violence, with an emphasis on bullying, mean teasing, intimidation, and harassment. She has trained thousands of school personnel, parents, and students on this topic, and is sought as a consultant to schools all over Michigan and the Midwest.

Practical Strategies & Interventions for Oppositional,
Defiant and Anger Issues in Children and Adolescents

Presented by Jay Berk PhD

Dr. Jay H. Berk is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice. He functions as a consultant in forensic and therapeutic cases. As a consultant, Dr. Berk works with a variety of schools and organizations creating programs, reviewing existing programs, and revitalizing programs already in place. Dr. Berk was a consultant to the United Nations - UNICEF for schools in Bosnia. He wrote the manual for UNICEF which was used by teachers to work with war traumatized children throughout that country.

Dr. Berk is adept at treating children with mental health and behavioral issues in outpatient, day treatment, partial hospital, hospital, and residential programs. His experience includes working in several area children homes, public and private schools, and other programs for special needs children. He has instructed paramedics in field management of behavioral emergencies, provided training and consultation to foster care agencies, and was a past director of a residential treatment program for children. Dr. Berk serves as a trainer for the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Team, is a consultant to the Screen Actors Guild in New Your City and has provided training to the Disney Channel. He facilitates nine social skills groups and directs a camp for children and adolescents during the summer.

Website: www.jayberkphd.com

Dare to Differentiate with Students of All Ages
Presented by Danny Brassell PhD

Danny Brassell is a Professor in the Teacher Education Department at California State University-Dominguez Hills. He is an experienced classroom teacher who has worked with students ranging from preschoolers to rocket scientists, and he has published numerous articles and books, including Readers for Life: The Ultimate Reading Fitness Guide (Heinemann, 2006) and (with Tim Rasinski) Comprehension That Works: Taking Students Beyond Ordinary Understanding to Deep Comprehension (Shell, 2008). His latest book, A Baker’s Dozen of Lessons Learned from the Teaching Trenches (Shell, 2009), is based on his most popular keynote presentation. Dr. Brassell’s research interests include reading motivation, English language learners and the value of play in enhancing memory recall. A reformed reluctant reader now dedicated to creating passionate readers, he founded the Lazy Readers’ Book Club, www.lazyreaders.com, Google’s #1-ranked website for cool, short “book club recommendations” for all ages. Using humor, music and games, Dr. Brassell has motivated audiences across the country to create cultures in homes, schools and businesses that stimulate innovation through widespread reading.

Website: www.dannybrassell.com

Published Books:A Baker’s Dozen of Lessons Learned from the Teacher’s Trenches, Comprehension That Works (with Tim Rasinski), Dare to Differentiate: Vocabulary Strategies for All Students, News Flash! Newspaper Activities to Meet Language-Arts Standards & Differentiate Instruction, Readers for Life: The Ultimate Reading Fitness Guide, Vocabulary Strategies Every Teacher Needs to Know (with Jim Flood)

Using Technology to Differentiate with Diverse Learners

Presented by Tammy Worchester

Tammy Worcester has over twenty-five years of educational experience. She began her career in the classroom, teaching nearly every grade from kindergarten through middle school. Currently, Tammy works for ESSDACK, an educational service center in Kansas, as an Instructional Technology Specialist, providing staff development and training in the area of technology integration. Tammy is extremely innovative and resourceful and specializes in finding unique and creative ways to use traditional computer tools in the classroom. She enjoys sharing her ideas with teachers throughout the nation, at conferences and in schools, and has a presentation style that can be described as inspiring.

Tammy’s experiences as a parent, a teacher, a technology director, and a training specialist have allowed her to develop a strong sense of best educational practices. Those skills, coupled with her technology expertise, enable her to create and provide practical, easy-to-implement ideas that will help teachers make better classrooms -- one mouse click at a time.

Website, “Tammy’s Technology Tips for Teachers” (www.tammyworcester.com) is a popular online resource for teachers around the world. Tammy is also the author of nearly a dozen best-selling technology resource books that are published and marketed nationally.

web site: www.tammyworcester.com