In the words of my fellow Council member William, “I didn’t even realize I had these opinions until someone asked to hear them.” While I have been online—whether gaming or on social media—for practically 10 of the 17 years of my life, I never felt like I could really do...

By: Nicolette G. Granata Monica Lewinsky is one of two keynote speakers at this year’s IBPA national conference in San Diego, CA. In 2015, Monica Lewinsky confidently and courageously took the stage to deliver a TED talk entitled “The price of shame.”  Before I actively listened to the talk, I...

By: Kim DeMoss Mindfulness, simply put, means paying attention on purpose. In our fast-paced society this can be quite counter cultural, and we can end up with a mind literally full of ideas and thoughts and no space to process them. For students, the pressure to perform well academically, the...

By: Nicolette G. Granata “Cultural competence is having an awareness of one’s own cultural identity and views about difference, and the ability to learn and build on the varying cultural and community norms of students and their families. It is the ability to understand the within-group differences that make each...

By: Randy Nathan (Coach Randy), MA, MSW   Harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) has literally surrounded our lives. You only have to look at the social media apps on your smartphone or turn on the news to see the amplified awareness of bullying behavior. However, there is a breeding ground...

By: Christa M. Tinari, M.A. The end of summer involves the hustle of back-to-school preparations, including lesson planning, last-minute supply ordering, and room set-up. If you’re like many educators, you’re probably also reviewing your class list, and planning how you will interact with your students on those first few, critical...

“I think it's a wonderful opportunity to get to know your students because it really creates a space where students feel impelled to speak up and engage in the lessons. I also feel that my students were challenged in a supportive way.” – 6th grade Advisory, Female Teacher “This quote...

*Featured piece of full article below (Borba, 2017). Read the full article here: http://micheleborba.com/empathic-kids/ “Here are four ideas that might help you raise a more caring, kind children and help them reap The Empathy Advantage (UnSelfie, 2017). Switch roles The next time there’s a conflict between your child and a...

*Featured piece of full article below (Scarlet, 2014). Read the full article here: http://www.superhero-therapy.com/2014/10/psychology-behind-harry-potter-books-post-1-of-3-compassion/ “In reading the Harry Potter series we learn what cruelty is, we are reminded of what unspeakable horrors human beings are capable of, and most importantly, we are reminded of how amazing human beings can be. Through...

“Research investigating the prevalence of bullying has found victimization rates to be over 50% for children with disabilities (Schroeder, Cappadocia, Bebko, Pepler & Weiss, 2014). As early as the preschool years, when compared to their neurotypical peers, children with disabilities (cognitive and/or physical) receive lower likability ratings from their peers...