Support Staff Academy
The annual Support Staff Academy is a program designed to provide professional development to area schools’ educational support professionals (i.e., administrative assistants, secretaries/office personnel, maintenance/custodial, food service, security, teachers’ and library aides).

The Academy consists of 4-6 days of professional development for half and/or full day sessions.  The topics vary each year based upon the Advisory Committee recommendations. At the end of each year is the Support Staff Mini-Conference. This is a one-day event with a morning keynote and breakout sessions throughout the day on a variety of topics.

Attending the Support Staff Academy pays big dividends by increasing your knowledge and skills!

Network credit can be used for all of these sessions!  Reserve your space today!
To register online go to: www.csd.org/pd.html and then to the date of the session. (Please Note: Online registration requires payment by one of the following methods - purchase order, credit card or CSD/Network credit) Half-day sessions are $49 for CSD Members and $61 for Non CSD Members.
Click on the Session title on the Right to down load a PDF file with more information and registration form.

Day One - Half Day Session

Friday, November 2, 2012    12:30 - 3:30 P.M.

Rekindling the Fire of Positive Public Relations         
Presented by Rod Dollins, Adjunct Professor, Hannibal-Lagrange University,retired principal, district supervisor of early childhood education and teacher.

Day Two - Half Day Sessions

Friday, March 1, 2013 8:30 - 11:30 AM
Positively Amazing Interactions
Presented by: Dr. Gina Bueneman-Cooper, Cooper Management Training & Consulting, Inc., Troy MO
Location: Cooperating School Districts 1460 Craig Road, St. Louis, MO 63146

(How to work with bullies, complainers, gossipers and other difficult people) Create positive cultural change by raising awareness on acceptable standards of workplace behavior. Learn ways to redirect negative behaviors to focus on positive communication goals. Gain an understanding of the concepts of workplace "bullying" and "harassment" and guidance on what to do should an issue arise.
Location: Cooperating School Districts, 1460 Craig Road, St. Louis, MO 63146

Friday, March 1, 2013 12:30 - 3:30 PM
Excel: Beyond the Basics
Presented by: Nancy George, Cooperating School Districts
Location: Cooperating School Districts, 1460 Craig Road, St. Louis, MO 63146

Join us for a half day of MS Excel. After a brief review of spreadsheet basics to get everyone on the same starting point, we’ll explore using Excel built-in formulas (aka functions) and creating your own formulas, generating charts, customizing an existing or new ribbon, setting up and using a spreadsheet efficiently and more.

Day Three - Half Day Session
 

Friday, March 8, 2013    12:30 - 3:30 PM
Leading for Success in the 21st Century 
Presenters: Dexer Schraer, Regional Professional Development Center/Cooperating School Districts

 This session will look at leadership skills and other communication essential to lead and build capacity within your group or organization.  How do you motivate your team, staff and others to work together for success, join this session and find out!  Leave this session prepared and with ideas in hand to implement immediately! 
Location: Cooperating School Districts, 1460 Craig Road, St. Louis, MO 63146

Friday, March 8, 2013 8:30 - 11:30 AM
Angry Students and Parents, What Do I Do?!
Presented by: Bruce Hunter, Non-Violence Crisis Trainer, Fenton, MO
Location: St. Charles School District Administration Center, Board Room
                400 North 6th Street, St. Charles, MO 63301

Have you ever had to handle an angry student or parent? Do you know how to deescalate an individual who is in a crisis? Do students with confrontational behaviors push your buttons or pull you into power struggles? This session will focus on practical strategies which are designed to deescalate students and parents who are becoming volatile. Participants will learn how to avoid power struggles and to keep their own emotions in check while working to deescalate challenging individuals. This will be a highly interactive session.
  

Day Four - Full Day Session

SSA Mini-Conference: Wednesday, June 5, 2013  at Lindenwood University - REGISTER ONLINE 
CSD CREDITS MAY BE USED FOR THIS SESSION!! Use your credits before June 30!

Some topics for this year's mini-conference include:

• Keynote: "Don't Let Your Circumstances Define You!" -Kevin and Dave Kuschel

  Life looks different when you’re always in a seated position.  Life also looks different when you’re pushing the grown man in the seated position, and his chair, up a North Carolina sand dune or through throngs of people at a sporting event.  In either case, a person’s true character shines through in these challenging situations.

  Born with a disability and having lost a sibling at a young age, Kevin Kuschel has had a lot to overcome, but he has never used his circumstances as an excuse.  Today, he uses those challenges and life lessons as a tool to reach and teach his students at Hazelwood West High School.  Kevin has been able to use his positive attitude toward his disability, and life in general, as a way to show his students that they don’t have to be defined by the negative circumstances in their own lives.   

  Kevin, and his brother Dave, will take you through their family’s story… one of loss and challenges, as well as successes and great joy.  Through their stories you’ll hear how growing up disabled, and growing up with a disabled brother, has shaped their character and perspectives on life.
  
  Using anecdotes—both humorous and emotional, Kevin and Dave will motivate and inspire the audience to rise above the circumstances in their own lives.  They will also give some practical tools that attendees can start using in their own lives to achieve things that they never thought were possible.
   

• Breakout Sessions: 

• Your Goals: Reaching Them in 2013 and BeyondPresenter:  Laurie Corners, Professional Organizer, Simplified Living Solutions, Inc., St. Louis, MO

  This workshop will help you break down your goals into smaller, more manageable (and achievable!) steps. You will leave armed with motivation and tips that will help you reach your goals easily and effectively.
   

• Secrets of a Professional Organizer
  Presenter:  Laurie Corners, Professional Organizer, Simplified Living Solutions, Inc., St. Louis, MO

  In this fun and informative workshop, we will spill the beans on some of the top tips and organizing strategies that we use with our clients, and in our own lives, to get and stay organized. You will leave this workshop with concrete steps that you can implement in your office or home so that you can simplify your life.

• Manage Your Stress-Manage Your Life
  Presenter: Diane Weber, RN, Wellness Coordinator , Visiting Nurse Association of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

  Does it feel like there is nothing you can do about the stress in your life?  Everyone has stress-causing "triggers"—things such as rush-hour traffic, bills that won’t stop coming, family responsibilities and work.  You have the power to reduce the impact of stress.  Learn how to spot stressors and stay in control when the pressure builds.
   

• Angry Students and Parents, What Do I Do?
  Presenter: Bruce Hunter, Non-Violence Crisis Trainer, Fenton, MO

  Have you ever had to handle an angry student or parent?  Do you know how to deescalate an individual who is in a crisis?  Do students with confrontational behaviors push your buttons or pull you into power struggles?  This session will focus on practical strategies which are designed to deescalate students and parents who are becoming volatile.  Participants will learn how to avoid power struggles and to keep their own emotions in check while working to deescalate challenging individuals.  This will be a highly interactive session. (Limited to 20)
   

• Getting Started with Computers and the Internet
  Presenter:  Martha Bogart, Instructional Technology Program Coordinator, Cooperating School Districts, St. Louis, MO

  When your district asks you to fill out online forms, surveys, or registrations, are you clueless? Would you like to be able to navigate the operating system of a computer and create and save files? This session is for people who are unfamiliar with how computers work and how to access the Internet. You will learn:

  • How to turn on and off the computer
  • How to use the keyboard, handle the mouse, and what the computer components are
  • How to navigate the Internet and find information
  • How to create and save files and folders

  Never be clueless again! Join us for a ground zero presentation on the ins and outs of computers.
   

• Positively Amazing Interactions
  Presenter:  Gina Bueneman-Cooper, Ph.D., D.Min., Cooper Management Training & Consulting, Inc., Troy, Missouri

  Create positive cultural change by raising awareness on acceptable standards of workplace behavior. Learn ways to redirect negative behaviors to focus on positive communication goals. Gain an understanding of the concepts of workplace “bullying” and “harassment” and guidance on what to do should an issue arise.
   

• Service Excellence Under Stress
  Presenter: Nancy Cleve, AAIM, St. Louis, MO
  
  Providing excellent customer service—making extraordinary impressions on our customers—that’s our job. It’s our job to manage what our customers see, what they hear, what they observe and how they feel. However, making extraordinary impressions on all types of people with all types of demands can be stressful. And, we have internal customers as well as external customers! Wouldn’t it be great to learn how to preempt a potentially bad situation before it becomes a problem? In this session you will learn techniques to manage your customers’ emotions and problems—and how to manage your stress reactions to them.
  
   
• Writing Effective Email
  Presenter: Nancy Cleve, AAIM, St. Louis, MO

  “How to manage your email before it manages you” is the war cry from the popular new book, The Hamster Revolution. Today we are inundated with more email than we can wade through. It’s not a time management problem—it’s an information management problem! Learn how to manage the “info glut” and write email people will actually read.

  At the end of this class you will be able to:

  • Write email your reader will read, understand and respond to in a timely manner.
  • Write with the tone that will get the reaction you want.
  • Lower the amount of email you receive each day.
    
     
• Mobile Device Basics
  Presenter: Bob Martin, Technical Trainer, MOREnet, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO

  Wouldn’t it be great if you could just sit down with a few different types of mobile devices and spend some time comparing them side by side?  Well, now you can!  In this hands-on session, participants will have the opportunity to try out three of the major platforms as you are guided through the key features of each one.  Bob has been researching mobile devices for over a year and has helped dozens of schools make more informed decisions about mobile devices as they head down the road to 1:1 and BYOD.  He has heard the good and bad from schools implementing 1:1 and will also be sharing their experiences.  A lab will be set up with pods of 3 devices, an iPad, a Chromebook and an Android (Galaxy Tab), so you can play, swap discuss and share what you think of each device.
   

• Can I Hold Others Accountable?
  Presenter: Judy Ryan, CEO, Consultant, Trainer, Columnist, Coach, LifeWork Systems, St. Louis, MO

  No matter what your role, you have an important mission and vision to fulfill at both work and at home. You also have challenges to overcome. An important question to consider is “what kinds of people do I need and want to achieve my mission and overcome my challenges?” If you asked most, “Do you want rebellious people in your life?” they’d say “no, of course not!” However, if you asked them, “Do you want compliant people” many would say “yes!” I suggest there’s an even better answer. In order to appreciate that better answer, it’s important to take a close look at accountability and better understand what it is, what it looks and feels like and how it relates to the kinds of people you most need and want. We’ll examine the beliefs, attitudes, reactions or responses, and feelings and behaviors all associated with a lack of or an abundance of accountability so you can create the conditions and relationships that make sure accountable behavior is the norm.

   

• Free Cool Tools to Increase Productivity
  Presenter: Martha Bogart, Program Coordinator, Cooperating School Districts, St. Louis, MO

  Do you want to make your professional life easier?  Are you wanting to use technology more, but don't know where to start? In this session, you can fill your technology toolbox!  You'll be amazed how many free online tools are out there for you to use in scheduling, organizing, and collaborating on your job tasks.  Topics will include file conversion, sharing and storing, calendar creation, to do lists, mind mapping, graphic editors, PDF creators, screen casting and more!
   

• Saving Time with Online Documents: Google 101
  Presenter:  Stephanie Madlinger, Ed.S. ~ Google Certified Teacher Instructional Technology Program Coordinator, Cooperating School Districts, St. Louis, MO

  Do you know how to use the basic features of Word and PowerPoint? Did you know that working in the cloud with your co-workers can save you time? In this session, participants will focus on two of the six Google Docs available, Google Documents and Google Presentations. Using Google Docs as an online collaborative environment reduces time and costs, and helps you complete tasks more effectively.  If you know how to use any word processor, you can easily use Google Docs and Presentations. You can even import your existing Word Documents and PowerPoints to save you yet more time! In this session, participants will learn how Google Documents and Google Presentations can:

  • Allow you to work on files anywhere, anytime

  • Make the writing process visible to anyone or everyone

  • Provide collaborative editing and creating of documents & presentations

  • Save time and money by working in the cloud

  PRE-REQUISITE: Participants must have a Google Account and/or Gmail
   

• Leading for Success in the 21st Century
  Presenter: Dexter Schraer, Consultant, Regional Professional Development Center/Cooperating School Districts

  How do you motivate your team, staff and others to work together for success?Join this session and find out! Leave this session prepared and with ideas in hand to implement immediately!

  Leading in the 21^st Century is Building Relationships, which are more than just rules, regulations and requisitions. This session will look at communication and other leadership skills essential to lead and build capacity within your group or organization. 

  You will be introduced to successful strategies for understanding, appreciating, and responding to the dynamics of a group or institution. Included in the discussion will be topics as diverse as active listening, sympathic magic, redirection and appropriate conversation. We will consider the benefits of a yes—only organization, the benefits of naming names, and the benefits of highlighting the positive. We will distinguish good practices from those that are less so.
   
   
• Ergonomics, Body Mechanics, Joint Protection Techniques, and Stretching to Prevent Injury
  Presenter: Janet Leicht, ProRehab

  In this session participant’s will:
  • Understand basic principles of ergonomics
  • Understand the importance of our BACK and SHOULDERS, WRISTS, and KNEES, and how to protect them by using appropriate body mechanics, postures and techniques
  • Perform stretching program specific to each joint and learn when to incorporate these based on working postures
  • Review techniques for each work group, based on work tasks, to improve ergonomics and body mechanics
   

• Retire Now or Later? You Decide!!
  Presenters:  Brady T. Westphal, ChFC, CFS, Retirement Specialist and Dorothy J. White, Financial Services Representative, Mass Mutual Financial Group
  
  Would you like to be able to retire today?  Most PEERS participants do not understand their benefits, ways they might be able to retire earlier, or ways to maximize their retirement in the future.  We know how, and we can show you!
  
   
• Preparing for Retirement: (PEERS) Public School & Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri
  Presenter:  Stacie Verslues, Member Education Coordinator the Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri, Jefferson City, MO

  This session is designed for you, members of the non-teacher retirement system, and is designed to help PEERS members better understand their retirement system and their rights and responsibilities that are available through their membership. Topics include general information on how the system operates as a defined benefit plan; benefits available through disability, survivor, lump-sum and service retirement; payment options at retirement; and post retirement issues.  Each participant will receive a workbook.  A question and answer session concludes the program.
   

• Sign Language Introduction: Can You See What I'm Saying?
  Presenter: Emily Harnacker, Teacher, Parkway West Middle School, St. Louis, MO

  This session will cover ways to communicate with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, provide an introduction to American Sign Language, and give you a glimpse into Deaf Culture.  Have fun learning and practicing various signs!
   

• Watch Your Language!
  Presenter: Rod Dollins, Troy, MO

  Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words, gestures, and body language, CAN really hurt you. Communications can convey trust, concern, camaraderie, and confidence. Or communications can build walls between the school and home which are hard to break. Come learn ways and techniques to enhance your communication skills and build a lasting positive relationship with your patrons.     

 

• PLUS SO MUCH MORE!
     Team Building
     Health
      Safety: Every