2025 Summer Institute Workshops

Presenter: Howard Moody

Description: The true nature of childhood is one of discovery, imagination, and connection. Children need play and independent exploration to thrive and learn. Play-based childhood began to decline in the 80s and has been essentially wiped out by the recent arrival of a screen-based childhood. The rapid decline in teen mental health has been readily apparent.

So, what can we do about it? More free play, more nature play, more wild play, and rites of passages for teens, recommends Jonathan Haidt in the Book, The Anxious Generation.

We will discuss research on a play-based learning approach. A distinct focus of this workshop is to experience and simply remember that learning is helped by “experiences that are playful – that are joyful, meaningful, actively engaging, iterative, and socially interactive.” By developing a pedagogy of play, schools really can be fun and full of joy. By the end of this workshop, participants will understand the importance of a pedagogy of play, explore its role in learning, and consider ways to advocate for playful learning in schools. They will also experience socially engaged play and its power to foster connection and joy.

Intended participants: All are welcome.

Bio:

Howard Moody has been facilitating workshops for over 35 years and he specializes in designing team building, play leadership training, stress reduction, and wellness presentations. www.howardmoody.com
Howard has also been a teacher and successful coach of numerous sports for many years and deeply understands the value of creating effective teams and how to achieve peak performance.

Howard has been a faculty member at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies for many years and is also the co-founder of The Adventure Game Theater, an extraordinary improvisational learning process for teens that has been featured on PBS and NPR). Combining experiential learning with creativity, improvisational theater, play, community building, mythology and storytelling the Adventure Game theater has brought magic into many young people’s lives.

Deepening connections among people is Howard’s passion and his mission is to help people be fully inspired, creative and playful in all that they do. Howard is also a certified Advanced Trainer for The Nurtured Heart Approach and has written the book, Nurtured Heart Play in collaboration with Howard Glasser, the founder of the Nurtured Heart Approach.

Howard has also just completed his comprehensive games manual entitled The Heart of Play Games Manual- 200 Activities for Connection and Joy.
Recently through his collaboration with the Starling Collaborative, a strong focus of the work is for educators to articulate the importance of, and the how-to of, Building Relational Trust and Connection through Play.

Howard is also a certified trainer in Conscious Communication, Emotional Responsibility and Laughter Yoga.

Presenter: Brandi Simonsen

Description: This workshop equips educators with information and resources to implement positive and proactive classroom practices that support students with disabilities. Participants will explore why these practices matter, identify key strategies to prioritize during instruction, and learn how to differentiate and intensify support through intentional implementation. By the end of the session, educators will begin developing a plan to build habits of effective classroom practice, ensuring a more inclusive and supportive learning environment.

Intended Audience: Classroom teachers who want to improve their use of positive and proactive classroom practices to better support students with or at risk for disabilities. While not required, we recommend that individuals attend as a team with someone else from their school.

Bio:

Brandi Simonsen, PhD is a professor of Special Education and the Co-Director of the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER; www.cber.org) at the University of Connecticut. She is also the Co-Director of the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS; www.pbis.org), Co-Principal Investigator of the National Multi-Tiered System of Supports Research Network (www.mtss.org), and an advisor to the National Center on Intensive Interventions (intensiveintervention.org).

Presenters: Rebecca Lallier and Amy Wheeler-Sutton

Description: In this interactive workshop, we will explore how the powerful intersection of joy, equity, and well-being can transform the school experience for students and adults alike. Together we will reflect on how intentionally centering the components of equity and cultural responsiveness can lead to more authentic relationships and joyful, inclusive educational communities. Participants will rediscover how purposefully integrating joy and equity into their everyday practice can cultivate connection, vibrancy, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bios:

Rebecca Lallier is a TA, Implementation Coach, and Trainer for Vermont PBIS. She spent 11 years as PBIS coordinator at the Dothan Brook School, a nine-year exemplar school, navigating all aspects of PBIS from initial implementation through revitalization, full implementation at all three tiers, and continuous improvement. Rebecca has 23 years of experience as a school counselor and was the 2016 Vermont School Counselor of the Year and a 2017 National ASCA School Counselor of the Year finalist. She is passionate about the importance of building trust and relationships while helping schools and teams center equity for all students, build on strengths, and solve problems to increase fidelity of PBIS implementation. Rebecca is especially interested in how PBIS, SEL, adult resilience, and positive school climate support and strengthen one another.

Amy Wheeler-Sutton is the Co-Director of the Vermont BEST/PBIS State Team. Before joining the State Team, she was a school counselor at The Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston, MA. Prior to that, she was school counselor for three years at the Dothan Brook School in White River Junction, an Exemplar PBIS School. Amy trains and provides technical assistance on a variety of topics including PBIS, SEL, SWIS, data-based decision making, and alignment of initiatives.

Presenters: Janet Cash and Jessica Thomas

Description: Hear from two Vermont administrators about what PBIS looks like in their buildings, including the missteps, barriers, and successes along their journeys. Learn how to cultivate joyful universal instruction, practices, and rituals; utilize data effectively; and build strong, sustainable systems. Consider the complicated and critical role of the leader and how you can empower the voices of staff, students, and families to create a school environment that fosters the well-being of all.

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bios:

Janet Cash is the Principal of First Branch Unified District, serving Preschool-8th grade students in Tunbridge and Chelsea, Vermont. Over the past 3 years, First Branch has renewed, refreshed, and re-envisioned PBIS to honor the school’s passion for experienced-based learning and outdoor education and holding students to high expectations. First Branch Unified District is a proud PBIS partner, Character-Stong and Responsive Classroom district within WRVSU. Before joining First Branch and WRVSU, Janet lived in New Jersey and worked as a Director of Special Services, Principal, classroom teacher, art teacher, and special education teacher. Janet holds a master’s in administration, a master’s in special education, a bachelor’s of science in art education, and a bachelor of fine arts in ceramics and printmaking. However, her favorite role is being a mom and a swim coach to the Killington Sharks.

Jessica Thomas is in her fourth year as the Principal at Albany Community School in Vermont. She has worked closely with her team to rebuild their PBIS framework and this year they are unlocking Tier 3! Jessica was the recipient of the Sherry Schoenberg Leadership Award this year. In her free time, Jess enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, snowshoeing, and walking with her labradoodle. She also enjoys knitting and spinning fiber into yarn!

Presenter: Trisha Wright

Description: Hear from the Family Engagement Specialists at Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union about best practices for making family, school, and community connections. A particular focus will be on meeting families where they are in order to improve attendance and support the homeless population. Participants will also consider how to improve collaboration among all school staff to support family engagement.

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bio:

Trisha Wright started at the SVSU in 2021 in a grant funded position. Her team of 4 built the Family Engagement program they have now. She is passionate about helping families and students be successful in school and the community. She has worked hard to get to know the community agencies in the area to be able to best serve the families and students they have in school that may need an extra hand. Knowing and collaborating with outside community agencies is key to a successful school/community environment. This work is rewarding and challenging at the same time.

Presenters: Ana Russo, Ian Burfoot-Rochford, and Cassie Santo 

Description: Participants of this workshop will develop an understanding of the landscape of SEL competencies and research and how to leverage that to inform the goal writing process for students’ Individualized Education Programs. Participants will gain an understanding of the components of goal writing and how to improve educational benefits.

Intended Audience: All are welcome. Anyone who is on an IEP team, which includes special educators and general educators.

Bios:

Cassie Santo, Interim State Special Education Director

Ana Russo, Inclusion and Accessibility Coordinator

Ian Burfoot-Rochford, Health and Physical Education Content Specialist – Ian is a part of the Student Pathways Division at the Vermont Agency of Education. He has been at the Agency for over two years, supporting various efforts around school health, wellness, health and physical education. Ian is a former educator and holds a PhD in Educational Leadership. He spends most of his time outside of work chasing his two kids!

Presenter: Gillian Pieper

Description: This workshop will offer quick ways to work out muscular stiffness and pain, breathe easier, and expel negative energy and stored-up trauma. These are all brief, science-backed touchstones to help you get back to your strong, capable body and clear-minded spirit — that person you’ve always counted on to superhero you through the wicked, wild world of the school workplace. During this workshop, participants will explore getting back to basics when it comes to personal well-being, practice the tiniest things that actually work to give you more energy rather than less, and appreciate the strengths you bring to your job. The workshop will be interactive and engaging and will include ample resources. Come in comfy clothing.

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bio:

Gillian Pieper has been a trainer, presenter and passionate advocate in the field of Wellness and Workplace Health Promotion since 1992. She has a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and a M.Ed. in Counseling and Adult Health Education from Boston University. Since 1996, Gillian has traveled the state for the VEHI PATH (Planned Action Toward Health) program helping schools design and implement best practice employee wellness programs.  She has advanced level training as an Intrinsic Coach and employs this methodology daily. Gillian is also a certified Wellness Culture Coach and has spent many years consulting nationwide with Dr. Judd Allen. She has studied under Dr. Dee Edington, achieved advanced certification from Larry Chapman with the National Wellness Institute, and she has advanced training in Global Learning Partner’s Dialogue Education.

Presenters: Michael Ruppel, Joel Jones, and Aly Callahan

Description: In this session, we will surface and discuss unique opportunities and challenges with using data to drive systems changes with older students, review artifacts and approaches from Otter Valley Union Middle and High School, and give participants time to brainstorm solutions to implementation challenges at their site. We will also discuss how PBIS nests within our broader MTSS framework and how our teaming model allows for all educators to have a role in shaping systems for student and educator well-being.

Intended Audience: While anyone working in a middle or high school may benefit, the intended audience is people who have the ability to influence or shape systems within their school. This could be teacher leaders, school counselors, administration, and PBIS coordinators. A basic understanding of PBIS is helpful but not required.

Bios:

Michael Ruppel is the principal of Otter Valley Union Middle and High School. Previously, he was an assistant principal and math teacher at Springfield High School and a 2017 Rowland Fellow. His work focuses on proficiency-based learning and flexible pathways.

Joel Jones is Associate Principal of Otter Valley, with a focus on middle school students and systems. Prior to this role, Joel was a Dean of Students at Mt. Abraham Union Middle and High School, and a Dean of Students and Band Director at several schools in Tennessee.

Alyson Callahan is a Social Studies Teacher and High School PBIS Coordinator at Otter Valley. She teaches courses in American History, Behavioral Science, and Schools and Society. She has also been the primary facilitator of our school’s partnership with Up for Learning and is focused on uplifting student voices at the center of school improvement.

Presenter: Camille Koosmann

Description: Restorative practices and approaches are built on the hypothesis that “human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them” (Wachtel, 2005).

Successful implementation of any relationally-based approach is hindered or helped by the degree to which the approach is practiced by and among adults in the buildings or district. Too often, schools implement positive and restorative approaches in schools using scripts and protocols, without first focusing on the culture, mindset, and wellbeing of staff. In this workshop, participants will examine the Social Discipline Window and explore practical everyday strategies for operating with students and colleagues, rather than doing things to or for them. This workshop will be both reflective and experiential. Participants will experience the restorative “Balance in the Process” framework, including the impact of slowing down, connecting, and building relationships as essential ways to prepare for learning. Participants will also practice and identify 2-3 concrete ways to shift deeper into the “WITH” box with each other and with students through the Social Discipline Window.

Intended Audience: Anyone who is interested in restorative practices should join this session! This training will provide an opportunity for those familiar with restorative practices to reflect and dive deeper while also providing a strong entry point for someone just learning about RP.

Bio:

Camille Koosmann is a restorative practitioner, trainer, and coach who has been working in the field of restorative practices in schools and the community since graduating from Champlain College in 2016. Camille has worked applying restorative approaches in many settings, most recently in K-12 schools throughout Vermont. Camille formerly led the Restorative Practices in Schools program for the Franklin Grand Isle Restorative Justice Center, serving as the school-wide restorative practices coordinator for Bakersfield Elementary Middle School as well as providing support, training, and coaching to nine other schools in Franklin and Grand Isle counties.

Presenter: Kym Asam

Description: Feeling a sense of belonging at school has powerful long and short-term implications for students’ positive social and academic outcomes. It is an essential protective function that can be nurtured and developed through educators’ actions, interactions, and the environments they create. As mental health challenges and absenteeism continue to grow at alarming rates, the need to strengthen positive and healthy connections between students and adults is paramount. In this interactive session, participants will explore the dimensions of belonging in school as described in the book, Belonging in School.  Participants will also develop an action plan for developing and strengthening their strategies for fostering belonging for the whole school community. 

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bio:

Kym Asam is an Implementation Coach and Trainer for Vermont PBIS. She has provided and continues to provide coaching to SD/SUs in their development and installation of a single system of delivery of services through a process of deliberately integrating mental health, families, students, and other community partners into their existing social/emotional/behavioral system. In addition, she currently provides training and project support to NFI Vermont in the areas of trauma-responsive school practices, grant writing and oversight, internship coordination, and the agency’s overarching framework. She has practiced as a licensed independent clinical social worker since 1992, and in addition to direct work with clients, provided clinical supervision to multiple staff and consultation to schools on complicated emotional/behavioral student needs. Kym has conducted numerous trainings for school personnel, both in and out of the state of Vermont, on resilience, empathic distress, and developmental trauma. She also provides field placement supervision for MSW and BSW students from multiple universities.

Presenter: Jessica Villeneuve

Description: The challenges of being a school leader today are vastly different from what they were even five years ago. Cultural and political division, pandemic-related delays in student learning, and high turnover rates have made it more important than ever to apply equity-centered, trauma-informed, and restorative principles and practices to the job. Attendees will experience restorative leadership coaching focused on ways to meet the complex and growing demands of school leadership. Beginning with reflecting on personal values and leadership approaches, the workshop will be centered on connecting and sharing with each other, examining a model for restorative leadership, and identifying changes that can be made immediately to strengthen capacity, skill, and motivation. During this workshop, participants will reflect on and share personal values related to leadership and their relationship to holistic restorative principles, examine a restorative leadership model, and identify actionable next steps, including how to measure the impact of those steps.

Intended Audience: Anyone serving in a leadership capacity or aspiring leaders.

Bio:

Jessica is a consultant, trainer, and coach with Starling Collaborative. Jessica’s coaching training came through Brown University’s ACT LPCC program and countless hours supporting leaders through her work supporting schools. Jessica also teaches at the University of Vermont. Previously, Jessica was a school Principal. As someone who has taken on a wide range of roles, she brings a deep understanding of complex systems and leadership. Jessica lives in Vermont with her husband, children, therapy dog Fig, cats, and chickens, where she keeps a large vegetable and flower garden.

Presenter: Mandy Couturier

Description: This session will provide opportunities to review models and examples of data, tools, processes, and involvement. Sharing resources means that teams don’t have to reinvent the wheel and we can all learn from each other. The session will also provide time to develop or fine-tune their school’s plan for next steps for using data from a strengths-based perspective to help make decisions around support at all tiers.

Intended Audience: Individuals with access to SEL and behavioral data.

Bio:

Mandy Couturier is starting her new position as the Director of Multi-tiered Systems of Support for the Harwood Unified Union School District. Previously, she was a building principal at Moretown Elementary School for 5 years. Also Mandy was a special educator and behavior specialist in an elementary setting for 15 years prior. She has focused her career on the social emotional learning of students.

Presenters: Josh Souliere, Toni Marra, Simona Kragh, and Marianna Charalabopoulos

Description: In this interactive workshop, participants will learn what the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle entails and how to devise tests to assess the effectiveness of the change ideas in their Continuous Improvement Plans. Explore the importance of prediction and measurement. Experience how rapid cycle testing & measurement can be easy. Learn that PDSA is more than just a tool and can be applied to anything anyone is implementing.

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bios:

Toni Marra – Toni is a member of the Education Quality Team at the Agency of Education. As a member of the team, she has the shared responsibility of providing a statewide system of support for continuous improvement by guiding the administration of comprehensive needs assessments and implementing continuous improvement plans. Toni really love working with schools and being able to help when needed. When not Toni’s not at work, she enjoys fishing, kayaking, playing cornhole, and anything that involves spending time with my family and friends.

Josh Souliere – Josh is a member of the Education Quality team at the Vermont Agency of Education. He’s been with the AOE for 19 years and has worked in the various roles within the statewide system of support framework. Primarily Josh has worked within the worlds of PBiS and School Improvement providing technical assistance and coaching with a continuous improvement lens. Outside of work he enjoys golf, music, mowing the lawn, and spending quality time with his family, friends, and animals.

Simona Kragh has been with the AOE for five years, in various roles, from Home Study, to Special Education, to Education Quality Assurance. Her background includes teaching and research. When she is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, baking, and sewing.

Marianna Charalabopoulos has been at the Agency of Education for almost 11 years and has been on the Child Nutrition Team as well as the Education Quality Team as an Education Quality Coordinator. She is now the 1003 School Improvement Grant Coordinator for the team. She studied at the University of South Florida, receiving a degree in Voice Performance and at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, NY where she received a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. With her love of singing, baking and finance, she hopes to continue to serve the students of Vermont for many years to come.

Presenter: Lauralee Keach

Description: Collective ownership is a critical component of successful PBIS implementation. It increases engagement, commitment, and shared responsibility and helps shift mindsets from “This is what we do” to “This is who we are.” The workshop will focus on ways to build and sustain collective ownership by fostering deep knowledge, meaningful participation, and relational trust among staff. Participants will consider the differences between collective ownership and buy-in, explore resistance to change, learn the concept of transformational professional development and how to provide this learning for staff.

Intended Audience: All are welcome. Recommended for school administrators, PBIS team members, school or district PBIS coordinators.

Bio:

Lauralee Keach has been working with children with a range of needs, including developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, for the past 22 years. She received her initial training in behavior analysis in Maine, where she was a member of a team that established a center-based program for students with developmental disabilities and emotional and behavior disorders. Since returning to Vermont in 2003, Lauralee has worked as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst consulting to regional school districts and currently is a member of the South Burlington School District’s Interdisciplinary Team, which provides behavior, psychological, and communication consultation services to students and school teams. Lauralee’s education includes a BA in Psychology and an M.Ed in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Presenters: Eric Becker and Craig Aylward

Description: Join us as we share Highgate Elementary School’s journey of creating a system of school-wide, consistent responses to behaviors with an emphasis on restorative practices and long-term outcomes. Participants will consider how they can build systems that minimize student time spent out of class and reduce the emotions of the moment for adults supporting students. We will discuss how we implement Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in a way that seamlessly integrates a restorative approach to repairing relationships and returning students to their classrooms.

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bios:

Eric Becker is a Highgate Elementary School Social Emotional Learning Coordinator. He works collaboratively with administration and staff to support the implementation of the district’s social and emotional learning initiative. This initiative helps students and staff develop fundamental emotional and social competencies and experiences. He also helps students problem solve around behavior and speak with parents about a student’s experience.

Presenters: Ben Parker and Carrie Gilman

Description: This workshop will introduce participants to the Restorative Practices (RP) mentoring programs that Northfield schools have implemented K-12. RP Mentors is a program that allows middle school students to push into elementary classrooms to play community-building games and facilitate restorative circles. Middle School Mentors is a program designed for high school students to mentor middle school students who are struggling socially, or academically. These programs did not require any new staff or resources and empowered students to grow their facilitation and leadership skills. The programs are the cornerstone of the continued universal implementation of RP at Northfield Schools. Participants will receive several resources including a comprehensive Restorative Practices class outline, a training guide for new mentors, a collection of circle scripts for use with elementary students, and activities and games designed to develop and enhance connections among students.

Intended Audience: All are welcome.

Bios:

Ben Parker is a middle school social studies teacher with 17 years of experience teaching both middle and high school. He has worked as a PBIS coordinator, a classroom coach, a Targeted Intensive Team coordinator and an RP champion along with his regular teaching duties. He is a proud husband and father that lives in Montpelier, VT. Enjoys spending time with his family and friends, playing disc golf, and making delicious food to share.

Carrie Gilman is an educator of twenty-one years with licenses in 6-12 English in the states of New York and Vermont and currently an English teacher and Restorative Practices Coordinator at Northfield Middle High School. Carrie is a 2023 Rowland Fellow and her project, to create a schoolwide system for disciplining with dignity when harm occur, has taken flight as an alternative to suspension and detention. Trained through the Starling Collaborative, IIRP, and St. Michael’s Graduate School, Carrie is Level III trained and equipped to train trainers. Her work in developing systems to preserve and enhance school culture include Disciplining with Dignity and a Kindergarten-Grade 12 Mentor Program. She is convinced that the only way to build a successful school culture is when all members of the community feel that they are truly part of the process of resolution and is a fierce advocate for students, especially those who are marginalized and most in need of belonging.

Presenter: Liz Lawson

 Description:
This interactive workshop invites educators to engage in self-assessment and analysis of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies, including personal strengths, values, goal setting, resilience factors, and wellness. This session fosters collaboration and utilizing evidence-based practices to support the academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs of all students. Participants will explore strategies to enhance well-being, reignite passion for their work, and implement sustainable shifts for personal and professional growth.

Intended Audience:
Educators, administrators, special educators, and school leaders—teams encouraged! This workshop is designed for anyone looking to strengthen their well-being and professional practice.

Bio:

Liz Lawson, M.S., Ed.S., BCBA, LBA has worked in Vermont schools since 2009 as an instructional assistant, behavior interventionist, special educator, and currently as a special education consulting supervisor. She became a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in 2018 and interned with the Agency of Education, contributing to recent changes in special education rules. Liz holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Northern Vermont University, a special educator endorsement from the Vermont Higher Education Collaborative, a Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and an Educational Specialist Degree (Ed.S.) in Educational Leadership focusing on special education and administration. Her research interests include trauma-informed care, restorative practices, educational equity, neurodiversity, social-emotional learning, mindfulness, and using Response to Intervention to evaluate specific learning disabilities. Passionate about equitable educational opportunities, Liz is dedicated to ensuring all children thrive and succeed, equipping them with the tools to lead meaningful lives and preparing them for academic success and future contributions to society.