Relationships are at the core of our work as Early Childhood Teachers. Cultivating and maintaining positive relationships in our classrooms helps decrease discipline problems and increase learning. This training will give teachers tools based in Restorative Practices to support them in cultivating classrooms filled with positive relationships. This work will also support children as they develop social and emotional intelligence, communication skills, problem solving abilities, and conflict resolution skills.

This interactive training will include:

• a brief overview of the goals and framework of Restorative Practices

• specific practices to support us in the work of cultivating positive relationships in Early Childhood environments with and between our students

• a deep dive into cultivating a classroom culture of listening which is a foundational practice of a peace classroom

• clear conflict resolution strategies you can begin using in your early childhood classroom right away

• valuable alternative to traditional discipline measures that can help repair relationships and teach young ones valuable skills along the way

This training will take place adjacent to Carolina Friends School’s Durham Early School campus.

Presenters:

Susanna Lambert (she/her) is in her twentieth year as an early childhood educator, currently teaching fours at the Durham Early School of Carolina Friends School. Her experience studying early childhood practices and policies in Norway deeply influenced her professional values. An avid advocate for children’s rights, she envisions a future in which all children are empowered as citizens: free to engage with their community, explore their physical surroundings, share their thoughts, pursue their curiosities, and construct their own understanding. She works towards this vision daily, guided by the democratic Reggio-Emilia approach.

Susanna holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and an M.Ed. in Leadership, Policy, and Advocacy in Early Childhood. She also holds a Birth-K and K-6 North Carolina Professional Educators’ License and a Level 12 Early Educator Certification with the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals.

Susanna and her husband live in Durham. They have three children and can recommend Restorative Practices as a very helpful tool for raising teenagers.

Olynda Smith is a Certified Montessori Early Childhood teacher, Simplicity Parenting Family Life Coach, Certified Yoga Teacher for children and adults (RYT E-500) and Mother. Olynda has fifteen years of experience working with children and their parents. She has a deep love of the Montessori method and an understanding of the philosophy and method honed by her many years spent as a Montessori teacher. Olynda serves as the Early Childhood Education Coordinator for Peaceful Schools NC and she is the Early Childhood advisor to Tiny Earth Toys. She brings to all of her work a rich background in different parenting styles, educational practices, and most of all a deep respect for all parents, teachers, and children. Several of Olynda’s articles about work with children and yoga have appeared in Montessori Life Magazine. In all of her work, Olynda considers herself to be a “connection advocate” – helping people connect more deeply to themselves, each other, and the planet.

Olynda lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband, two young children, and their goldfish Steev. She loves hiking, gardening, making herbal home remedies, and curling up with a good book.

Sara Orphanides is an early childhood educator who holds a strong vision of all children as competent and capable, with endless potential for building peace. This has led her to a 20+ year career in teaching and learning with three- to- six- year-olds, most recently at Carolina Friends School. Sara holds a Masters of Science in Education from Bank Street College of Education where she discovered the power of children, teachers, and families engaging in shared learning and research through multi-disciplinary projects. In addition to her work with Peaceful Schools NC, Sara serves on the leadership team of the North Carolina Reggio Emilia Collaborative, an organization that connects and trains early educators who wish to deepen their Reggio Emilia-inspired teaching practice through shared learning, reflective discussion, and hands-on explorations.

Registration:

• Early Bird registration, before May 20: $140

• Standard registration: $175

• Group rate: Send four educators for the price of three

• Additional 20% discount for schools in the Peaceful School Network

• We are committed to making these workshops available and accessible to all. Email peacefulschoolsnc@gmail.com to submit a request for sliding scale registration rates.

In this intensive, highly interactive two-day training, you will learn the essential components of Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice. Led by trained IIRP facilitators, sessions will focus on:

• a fundamental understanding of Restorative Practices in schools and youth centers

• the mindset of a relationship-based approach to discipline and conflict resolution

• the process and practice of leading proactive community-building Circles

• how to lead Restorative Conversations and Healing Circles

• resources, reflection, and planning for effective school-wide implementation

• plenty of time to practice, practice, practice

This training will take place at Carolina Friends School’s main campus (in Durham, NC).

Anita Scott Neville is a Durham native and graduate of Durham Public Schools. Since her graduation from UNC Greensboro, Anita’s career has been rooted in public service; particularly human service including community development and education and instruction for citizens in transition. Anita serves as Restorative Practices Coordinator and Equity Champion at The School for Creative Studies. Her passion and belief in the “science” of restorative practices led her to become a licensed trainer and to complete graduate certification from the International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP). Anita is also the founder and principal of CommYUnity Matters, LLC, a non-profit collective whose goal is to work with individuals and groups in support of their efforts to address issues that affect their ability to be of maximum service. Having served in local and federal government as well as private and non-private agencies, Anita brings to her work an appreciation for the broad scope of community needs that could benefit from a Restorative Practices platform. Service to students and families who seek to strengthen their relationships is her primary focus. Anita’s self-reflections honor the spirit of “Ubuntu – I am because you are” and her awareness that community matters.

Christel Greiner Butchart currently leads the Peaceful Schools NC initiative at Carolina Friends School. With 19 years of experience as an educator, Christel works to empower teachers, students, and school communities in effectively implementing a social curriculum founded in student education and practice of conflict resolution strategies. Christel is a Rotary Peace Fellow, receiving her Masters in International Relations with a focus on Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland, AU. At Carolina Friends School, she teaches Conflict Resolution and Rehearsal For Life, based on Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed. Internationally, Christel has worked with students and teachers in Myanmar (Burma) and Australia, teaching peace education and developing relevant conflict resolution curriculum. She is a certified IIRP Restorative Justice trainer and is eager to support other educators in their pursuit of Restorative Practices in schools. Christel is a mother of two, offering countless opportunities for Restorative Practices at home.

Renee Prillaman has over 40 years of teaching and administrative experience and holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. Renee began her career as a classroom teacher which cemented her love of experiential learning and building just and caring classroom cultures. Seeing teaching as a calling and an act of creating social justice, Renee spent her career focused on supporting and developing teachers and those who supervise and lead teachers. She guided teachers and student teachers in public schools and served as a clinical professor in child development and education on the faculties at Meredith College, UNC- Chapel Hill, and Duke University. In 1998, she joined the Carolina Friends School Staff and there has served as a teacher, Head of the Middle School, and the School’s first Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning. She also served as Acting and Interim Head of School. Currently, Renee is a coach and consultant focusing on developing leaders who are joyful, authentic, and courageous. Renee has taught in new teacher institutes for the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools. She is a founding board member and previous Chair of the Peaceful Schools NC Committee and has delivered workshops and presentations for Peaceful Schools NC since its inception.

Registration:

• Early Bird registration, before May 20: $280

• Standard registration: $350

• Group rate: Send four educators for the price of three

• Additional 20% discount for schools in the Peaceful School Network

• We are committed to making these workshops available and accessible to all. Email peacefulschoolsnc@gmail.com to submit a request for sliding scale registration rates.

Starting off the school year for all teachers requires intentional planning to set the stage. For new teachers, this is especially important whether you are in your first three years of the profession or whether you are making the move to a new school culture with a new mission. In this day-long workshop, we will tackle the questions most on the minds of new teachers. How do I build positive relationships with students? How can I create a classroom that is warm and welcoming as well as well-ordered with clear expectations? What do I do when students are in conflict? And how can I partner with parents in challenging circumstances.

Our approach in the day’s work will be experiential, research based, and will build on the experiences and questions of participants.

This training will take place at Carolina Friends School’s main campus (in Durham, NC).

Presenters:

Ida Trisolini is the Interim Head Teacher of the Middle School at Carolina Friends School and a member of the Peaceful Schools NC Committee. During her 32 tenure as a Middle School educator, she has served in a variety of roles including language arts teacher, electives teacher, and Interim Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning. She helped design the conflict resolution curriculum at CFS and has presented workshops on creating a peaceful classroom and school culture at regional and national conferences as well as workshops on Discipline for Growth and Learning. Ida has been teaching for thirty-two years and has been teaching in Quaker schools for twenty-eight years. Ida thinks middle schoolers are the most amazing people on the planet!

Renee Prillaman has over 40 years of teaching and administrative experience and holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. Renee began her career as a classroom teacher which cemented her love of experiential learning and building just and caring classroom cultures. Seeing teaching as a calling and an act of creating social justice, Renee spent her career focused on supporting and developing teachers and those who supervise and lead teachers. She guided teachers and student teachers in public schools and served as a clinical professor in child development and education on the faculties at Meredith College, UNC- Chapel Hill, and Duke University. In 1998, she joined the Carolina Friends School Staff and there has served as a teacher, Head of the Middle School, and the School’s first Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning. She also served as Acting and Interim Head of School. Currently, Renee is a coach and consultant focusing on developing leaders who are joyful, authentic, and courageous. Renee has taught in new teacher institutes for the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools. She is a founding board member and previous Chair of the Peaceful Schools NC Committee and has delivered workshops and presentations for Peaceful Schools NC since its inception.

Registration:

• Early Bird registration, before May 20:  $140

• Standard registration: $175

• Group rate: Send four educators for the price of three 

• Additional 20% discount for schools in the Peaceful School Network 

• We are committed to making these workshops available and accessible to all. Email peacefulschoolsnc@gmail.com to submit a request for sliding scale registration rates.