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As I have researched schoolwide initiatives, I have found that the newest and most popular schoolwide trainings centers around Restorative Discipline Practices and the Art of Conducting Classroom Community Circles.  In Houston’s Alief Independent School District, I have trained thousands of educators over a (21-year) period in the Proven Student Assistance Program Model (SAP) which includes Restorative Practices and how to facilitate successful Classroom Community Circles. The goals of this training remain to increase academic productivity, to improve all communication skills, to teach positive coping skills, and to provide a safe place for students to thrive, heal, and form healthy relationships with peers and caring adults.  We recognize that we connect to other people when we sense that they see us, know us, and care about us. Classroom Community Circles support honest and authentic dialogue that strengthens and unifies relationships.  What I think every school district in the world desires for students is to be seen, to be heard, to be known for who they really are and to care and to be cared for by others.     

Alief ISD has long been a Recognized School District, even in the midst of many low socio-economic campuses. Alief ISD’s graduation rate also surpasses the state average and Alief ISD students exceed the state average in enrollment in post-secondary institutions.  I believe that Alief ISD continues to excel because of the yearly SAP Restorative Practices and Classroom Community Circles’ Trainings, and other noted professional development initiatives.
If you desire your school, district or organization to be trained in the proven research-based SAP Restorative Practices and Classroom Community Circles’ Model, please contact Donna Clark Love.

Wow! What a morning I have had! Such an honor and quite an exciting challenge to receive a call from the leader and innovator of the multi-college system: Houston Community College. With 21 campuses in the Houston area, students are being trained for work and life in our ever-changing, diverse global and technological society. In June, I will facilitate comprehensive training for all departments on how to provide stellar customer service, as well as how to unite individual departments utilizing state-of-the-art team building activities. Houston Community College… Here I come!

Imagine receiving a call from NASA/Johnson Space Center, the world’s leader in space and aeronautics, to conduct a workshop/training entitled, “Cyber Bullying: The New Face of Workplace Bullying”. Not only did I have the opportunity to train employees including supervisors and crew leaders, but I also consulted with HR and assisted them in drafting comprehensive social media policies for the company. If the top place to work in the world is struggling with digital bullying via social media venues, can it be that cyber bullying is frighteningly more common in the workplace than one may predict?

A cumulative study by the University of Sheffield, Harvard, USC, the RAND Corp, & the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) has shown that approximately 4 out of 10 people have experienced cyber bullying at the workplace in the last six months.

I have found that many businesses are struggling with how to address, prevent, and stop this new form of bullying which incorporates the use of electronic devices to hurt, embarrass, threat, intimidate, humiliate or harass another. Many have not included social media guidelines in company policies which increases the risk factors for legal ramifications. Cyber bullying incidents include sending malicious and belittling e-mails, group texts, and tweets…especially to target one’s job performance. Other reported examples of workplace bullying include posting offensive or embarrassing comments/photos about co-workers via social networking sites, chat forums, trendy apps and blogs.

Workplace cyber bullying proves not only hard to track, but also hard to monitor. It can cause anxiety, stress and hostility… eventually leading to a decline in employee productivity and overall climate. It is important to recognize and take action against cyber bullying in order to maintain sustainable business operations. While there is no single successful method or a magic panacea to end cyber bullying in the workplace, there are proven strategies that businesses can employ to combat and prevent cyber bullying in their workplace.

Please contact me for further information, to book a training/workshop or to speak at a workplace conference.