Donna is an in-demand speaker & facilitator who offers keynote speeches, workshops/trainings, school-in services, consultations and powerful one-on-one coaching. Each year Donna works with thousands of educators, counselors, coaches, parents, students, administrators and community representatives. Her speaking engagements have taken her to New Zealand to work with the Māori tribe, to working with the Belizean government on educating teachers about cutting-edge violence intervention strategies.
It is Donna’s goal to provide the most dynamic, relevant, and effective training and consultation to public, private, & religious schools/districts, treatment centers, as well as non-profit organizations & major corporations. She dedicates her resources, experience, expertise and skill set to the accomplishment of established goals and expectations as specified by the client.
She recognizes the importance of utilizing local data and taking the pulse of schools and organizations to determine the most appropriate training objectives. Programs are research-based and focus on providing practical take-home strategies for participants. Donna is renowned for her highly spirited, interactive, & humorous speaking style.
Donna is available to come to your school or community and present the following training sessions. The length of each workshop is based on your particular requests. You can combine the components of more than one workshop to meet your needs and Donna will gladly design a customized workshop/training for your school, district or organization. If you have any questions about workshop descriptions, training fees, or how to schedule, please click here.
THE BULLY, THE BULLIED, OR THE BYSTANDER:
Bully Prevention / Intervention
This comprehensive workshop will enlighten counselors, teachers, administrators and even concerned parents about the newest trends about bullying and cyber bullying behaviors. The violence continuum begins with name calling, taunting, pushing, excluding others and can escalate to physical violence, including school shootings. Victims of bullying behaviors carry emotional scars to adulthood. A special feature of the training is an in-depth discussion of the difference between girl bullying behaviors and boy bullying behaviors along with discussions about cyber bullying. Recent research and successful school pilot studies and bullying prevention policies will be presented and statistics shared about how safe classrooms can result in higher test scores and academic productivity. Every participant will be equipped with practical intervention strategies to reduce bullying. By the end of this workshop, each participant will be able to:
- Define bullying, bystander, & victim behavior
- Compare teasing, rough and tumble play, fighting and bullying behavior
- Conduct practice interventions that have proven effective with students identified as bullies and victims to reduce bullying incidences
- Discover where and when bullying is taking place
- Identify the pivotal role of the bystander
- Identify concerns & dangers of social networking apps, sexting, & internet predators
- Use role-playing techniques, student real life scenarios, and video-based vignettes
- Learn how to utilize students as Bullying Prevention Agents school-wide
- Discuss the nuts and bolts of effective school-wide anti-bullying programs and complete a school action plan with follow-up activities.
Yak: What’s up w/ YikYak? —What to do when Cyber Bullying Spills into School:
- Are u aware of the most popular social craze for elementary/secondary students such as: YikYak, Sneak, Jiggler, Omegle, Ooovoo, Poof by Cydia, Tinder, Kik, Chatroulette, Whisper, WeChat & the sexually harassing Facebook app such as “DOWN”? Do u need some current & research-based strategies for addressing and combating cyber bullying? Some of the most popular apps/sites/games appear as innocent ways 4 our students to keep in touch w/ friends, but can turn into venues for cyber bullying. Affronted by cyberspace’s escalation of viciousness, parents are looking to school administrators, teachers and counselors/social workers for help. All will learn the most current legal issues, when & how to intervene on cyber bullying incidents and “talking points” to use w/ parents. Each participant will learn how to differentiate how much jurisdiction schools have when bullies are often nameless and engaging in digital bullying away from the schoolyard. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Discover digital bullying intervention strategies that can be utilized in any (K-12) educational setting
- Become familiar with the current apps/sites/games that are used as venues for cyber bullying
- Learn safety tips & proper netiquette for navigating the most current social networking sites and free apps
- Learn the most effective “talking points” & resources to utilize with parents
- Differentiate how much jurisdiction schools have when bullies are often nameless and engaging in digital bullying away from the schoolyard.
Click to Inflict: Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety for K-12 Students
Logging on, Claudia, a 14-year-old honor student adds this entry to her blog, “I hate you. You are the biggest loser!” This diatribe degenerates into the mindless cruel slandering of a fellow peer. Welcome to the world where kids are using cyberspace and cellphones to intimidate, harass and threaten others. Nasty rumors, embarrassing photos, hurtful lies, and hateful rhetoric are sent with a click of a mouse or tap of a phone screen. This presentation will examine high-tech bullying behaviors, social networking sites, the current “cyber lingo”, apps to be aware of, chat room dangers, internet predators & “unofficial school home pages” . Participants will learn when and how to intervene on cyber bullying incidents. By the end of this workshop, each participant will have:
- Pin pointed the updated internet safety guidelines that every student needs to be taught
- Discussed chat room dangers, internet predators, unsafe websites, hurtful group texts, ways kids are using apps to bully others
- Learned safety tips & proper netiquette for navigating the most current social networking sites and apps
- Examined school lawsuit cases pertaining to digital bullying
- Differentiated how much jurisdiction schools have when bullies are engaging in digital bullying on home computers
- Received sample student agreements promoting internet safety.
DEAR EDUCATOR, Do You Know EVERYTHING about the Bullying Law and What you need to do to avoid any legal LIABILITies?
This workshop focuses on the bullying law and the practical steps each school and district needs to take to meet all the statutes required. Each participant leaves with a solid action plan of what needs to be in place at each school, as well as sample templates/modules of exactly what training pieces need to be implemented for students, parents, and staff members. More and more lawsuits are springing up based on the legal “standard of liability”. School districts are being held to the “deliberate indifference” standard in legal claims. To honor the specifications of the law, each participant or school team will go through the process that needs to happen when one first receives a report of bullying, from the appropriate documentation to the tips for responding to the investigation and finally to the follow-up process. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Construct a training plan for students, staff, & parent community
- Learn all statutes/requirements of bullying law
- Walk-through the process that needs to be in place after a report of bullying is made
- Utilize simple tools for appropriate documentation
- Review various sample forms for reporting and follow-up procedures
- Differentiate how much jurisdiction schools have when students are engaging in digital bullying on home computers and cell phones
“Ur outfit is ugly…Just kidding”- MEAN GIRLS and the climates they thrive in”
Adolescent and preadolescent girls wield enormous power over their peers. Their weapons — gossiping, Instagram slammin’ , name-calling, excluding — may not give other girls black eyes or bloody lips, but they can be as harmful as physical intimidation, violence, and racial slurs. These frequently covert acts of aggression also affect your school climate and culture, as well as the girls’ grades and sense of self-worth. We cannot ignore it or say, “This is what girls just do!” The only way to intervene is first to become more aware of the hidden ways that girls bully one another. This highly experiential workshop will not only help participants become more aware, but will give them the tools to support and empower the victim, encourage the bystander and guide the aggressor to find appropriate ways to meet her needs. Every participant will leave with a selection of activities and exercises that can be utilized in any K-12 classroom or counselor’s office. By the end of this workshop, each participant will be able to:
- Distinguish between girl and boy bullying behaviors
- Utilize video based clips, real–life scenarios & role play
- Experience ‘girl world’ classroom lessons
- Practice proven on-the-spot interventions for relational aggression
- Become acquainted with a variety of resources for addressing girl bullying
- Address interventions for and differentiate how much jurisdiction schools have when girls are engaging in digital bullying on home computers and cell phones
“Proven Interventions & Consequences that actually WORK for bullies, victims, and bystanders”
Do we really know the most effective & current ways to intervene in bullying situations? Do we know how and what to teach our students about intervening in bullying? Utilizing the latest school research & the best intervention practices, this workshop will help each educator effectively stop and reduce bullying. Through vignettes, real-life scenarios, interactive classroom lessons and other highly spirited strategies, participants will leave with a tool-kit of interventions for the bully, the bystander and the victim. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Dispel myths concerning bullying behaviors and interventions
- Examine the interventions that have proven MOST effective with students identified as bullies and victims
- Practice on-the-spot interventions utilizing vignettes, video clips, & real-life scenarios
- Empower students to let adults in the school know if students are being bullied
- Discover classroom lessons focused on empowering the bystanders
- Review current resources that can be utilized in any school setting
“VPA’s – Violence Prevention Agents”
How to Train Students to become UPSTANDERS
For far too many students, school is a place where cruelty is the norm and bullying is an accepted behavior. Current youth development research shows that when students work in partnership w/adults to solve challenging problems, amazing things happen. Students see, hear, and know things adults don’t and can intervene in ways adults can’t. This training will give you the skills to set up and conduct “VPA” training for selected students from diverse groups and cliques. By learning de-escalating communication tools and savvy intervention skills, students can reduce/stop bullying, intimidation, and harassment. If 25 ”VPA’s” intervene in one potentially hurtful situation each day, that is 125 interventions per week, or 5000 interventions in a school year. (School teams are encouraged to attend, including students who have been previously selected by an advisor/leader. Coming with a school team is not a requirement. Interested club sponsors, counselors, teachers are welcome.) By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Introduce mechanisms where students can identify bullying concerns
- Teach students how to adopt a strong, but caring stance against the “code of silence”
- Practice de-escalating tools and kid-friendly intervention strategies for on-the-spot bullying episodes
- Discover “shame-free” zones where bullying and teasing is not taking place
- Learn classroom activities/lessons that can be implemented in any school setting
- Experience interactive, lively vignettes and real-life scenarios that can successfully confront bullying behaviors
RTime
For Elementary Folks Only
Rtime is a respect, manners, and relationship program that originated in Coventry, England. The program was written by a former elementary school principal to decrease bullying behavior. The impact of this one day training program that begin in one England elementary school in 1998 is so dramatic that thousands of schools in the U.K. and now the US have implemented Rtime. R-Time, if implemented school wide, improves school climate & decreases school mediations, disciplinary incidents, bullying behaviors, as well as in-school suspensions. Rtime only requires each teacher to facilitate one Rtime lesson (15) minutes a week. Donna has been trained by the UK founders and has been training Rtime in Dallas schools. She has observed the impact and improved school climate of elementary schools that have implemented the program. Individual school statistics/evaluations, as well as principal testimonials can be provided. After implementation of Rtime schools will observe students:
- Resolving conflicts effectively as well as fairly
- Solving problems with others or themselves
- Adopting a calm and optimistic attitude that promotes academic achievement
- Working and playing cooperatively
- Recognizing and standing up for rights of others
- Understanding and valuing differences
- Recovering from setbacks and ability to persist in face of difficulties
- Treating the adults in the building with respect and good manners
How to intervene on “Bullies”, “Teasers”, & other “Meanies”
Preschool – 3rd grade
Do you need some new activities, effective intervention techniques for “little-kid” bullies and creative ways to build empathy for victims? Young kids are active & impulsive, and they are going to have spur-of-the-moment scuffles, friendship spats & wrestling behavior. But, when does a normal developmental behavior turn into aggressive bullying? This interactive, fun, and action-driven training will help educators differentiate between play-related conflicts and true bullying behaviors. Through hands-on extension lessons, developmental-based vignettes, storytelling, role plays, & craft materials, participants will learn activities and interventions that can be incorporated in any learning environment. Workshop participants will be able to:
- Describe the causes & consequences of bully, bystander, & victim behaviors for younger children
- Teach children how to resolve conflicts fairly
- Utilize & review age-specific resources
- Teach kids how to work and play cooperatively
- Recognize bullying and intervene on-the-spot
- Issue specific consequences for witnessed bullying behaviors
HELP ME!
Student Support Groups: A Powerful Vehicle of Transformation for the Bullies, the Bullied & the Bystanders
This training is designed to assist (K-12) schools in setting up and facilitating effective, multi-disciplined and developmentally based support groups on campus that address bullying concerns. These groups meet weekly and are established for students struggling with topical issues such as victimization, aggression, lack of respect, low self-esteem, isolation, fear of peer abuse, and impulse control. The “how-to” including logistical and technical information such as size of group, length of duration, etc. will be discussed. Each participant will receive a set of bullying intervention lessons which include separate lessons for the bullies, the bystanders, & the victims. By the end of this training each participant will be able to:
- Demonstrate effective facilitator skills and list specific roles
- Learn the most effective intervention strategies for kids engaged in bullying behaviors
- Integrate bully prevention support groups in classroom environment to maximize learning
- Discover how group can restore free attention and empower students to stand up for others
- Distinguish effective identification strategies for targeting and referring students to group
- Apply unspoken systemic “rules” to facilitating a healthy group
- Recognize common group leadership mistakes
- Distinguish the effective social skills needed for the bullies, the victims, & the bystanders
- Utilize new lessons and activities that can be used for any (K-12) learning environment