Capitol Region Education Council s2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2014 / Julia Winer
Assistant Director of Communications
(860) 509-3666
Connecticut's Second Annual School Climate Conference
Highlights Successful Practice
(Cromwell, CT) On February 26, 2014, CREC, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, and with support from the Blended Solutions grant, hosted the Second Annual Connecticut School Climate Conference.
The theme of this year's event was "Honoring the Spirit and Letter of the Law,” inviting participants to gain a greater understanding of Connecticut's school climate legislation, and to learn about a variety of tools and programming that can support the development of a positive school climate.
The School Climate Conference is intended to be a robust opportunity for educators who are working to address this critical aspect of school success to connect from throughout the state. “I learned and found a lot of educators experiencing the same enthusiasm as I am in creating safe schools with strong climates, but also facing the same obstacles implementing some ideas,” shared a participants from Meriden Public Schools. “I really enjoyed each breakout session as an opportunity to better understand school climate solutions.”
More than 100 educators from Connecticut convened at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell to participate in the event. Participants were from Hartford, Mansfield, East Hartford, West Haven, Suffield, Berlin, CREC, East Windsor, EastConn, Milford, Regional School District 16, Enfield, Litchfield, West Hartford, Bloomfield, Oxford, Manchester, Meriden, Wolcott, Regional School District 15, and ACES. Attendees included superintendents, central office leadership, building principals, school climate coordinators, teachers, and counselors.
The conference had great energy from “like-minded people ready to learn,” said CREC’s Coordinator of Professional Development, Linda Darcy. Darcy facilitated a breakout session entitled “The Power of Words.”
The CREC conference featured a keynote address by experts, Patricia Ciccone, superintendent of the Westbrook Public Schools, and Richard Cardillo, education director of the National School Climate Center. Conference attendees participated in breakout sessions, where small groups collaborated on a variety of school climate topics, including Welcoming Schools, Comprehensive School Climate Inventory, Responsive Classroom, The Montessori Approach, PBIS, Shipman & Goodwin – Counselors at Law, High School Unity Teams, Analysis of Connecticut School Climate Data, The Power of Words, Early Learning and Development Standards, and the Anti-Defamation League.
Partial sponsorship for the conference was provided by Blended Solutions, a comprehensive staff development program managed by CREC. For more information about Blended Solutions, visit: http://www.crec.org/blendedsolutions/
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The Capitol Region Education Council was established in 1966.Working with and for its member districts, CREC has developed a wide array of cost-effective and high-quality programs and services to meet the educational needs of children and adults in the region.CREC regularly serves 36 towns in Greater Hartford, offering more than 120 programs to more than 150,000 students annually. CREC manages the Hartford Region Open Choice program and more than 35 facilities throughout the area, including 19 interdistrict magnet schools. More information about CREC is available at www.crec.org.
Capitol Region Education Council www.crec.org