ISBE School Wellness Conference

This session equips teachers and staff with a practical, easy tool to support individual wellness. This tool can also be adapted as the basis for a more cohesive, schoolwide wellness program, as applicable to your school. Attendees will examine how small, intentional shifts can improve focus, emotional regulation, and overall quality of life.  Explore eight foundational areas of mental and physical well-being and learn how to use a simple checklist framework to assess needs, set realistic goals, and track progress over time. The session discusses how schools can create a shared language and culture around well-being that can be used by everyone- from staff to students. Attendees will leave with a ready-to-use structure for supporting personal wellness as well as building collective practices that strengthen the school community. Learn how to use this tool to transform your own life, the lives of students, and the school as a whole. 

Teaching is one of the most meaningful and demanding professions—and too often, educators are expected to do it all without losing themselves in the process. In this energizing and empowering session, Dr. Kristen helps educators and school leaders break free from the pressure to constantly perform and instead lead from a place of clarity, strength, and authenticity.
Dr. Kristen’s MAGIC framework invites educators to reconnect with their purpose, shift from survival mode to intentional leadership, and take small, courageous steps toward greater balance and impact—both in and out of the classroom. Through honest stories and practical strategies, attendees will walk away with renewed energy to lead with confidence, compassion, and courage.
You don’t have to change who you are to thrive as an educator—you just have to step into your MAGIC.

By May, even the most dedicated educators can feel the strain—patience is thinner, energy is lower, and the finish line seems both close and impossibly far away. Tethered and Whole: Avoiding Educator Burnout is an in-person workshop designed to meet educators exactly where they are in this moment: tired, stretched, and still deeply committed to their students. Grounded in the core ideas from Matt's new book, Tethered and Whole, this session invites participants to explore what it means to stay connected to purpose (tethered) while also maintaining a sense of personal well-being (whole). Rather than offering one more thing to do, this workshop provides practical, immediately usable strategies to reduce overwhelm, regulate stress, and navigate the emotional demands of the end of the school year. Through a mix of reflection, discussion, and interactive activities, educators will examine the hidden patterns that contribute to burnout—such as overcommitment, blurred boundaries, and decision fatigue—and learn how to interrupt them with small, sustainable shifts. Participants will leave with tools to create space between stimulus and response, set clearer boundaries, and restore a sense of agency in their daily work.

The Behavior Assessment Training (BAT) Project is a newly awarded statewide initiative, funded by the Illinois State Board of Education and housed at Illinois State University, designed to strengthen how schools and districts approach Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs). Moving beyond compliance-driven practices, BAT emphasizes function-based, instructionally meaningful behavior planning that supports both student outcomes and adult capacity.
The BAT Project provides tiered professional learning, coaching, and implementation guidance focused on building sustainable district and school team capacity for effective behavior assessment and intervention. A central goal of this session is to introduce the BAT Project while beginning to build it in partnership with the field. This conference provides an ideal opportunity to listen and learn from educators, administrators, and support staff who are navigating behavior support challenges in real time.
During the session, participants will be invited to share their perspectives, needs, and priorities through intentional interactions designed to inform the professional learning content, resources, and targeted supports the BAT Project will develop as it launches. Input gathered will help shape how BAT focuses its training and technical assistance to best meet district and school needs across Illinois, ensuring supports are practical, relevant, and responsive to the realities of school-based practice.

SOS Signs of Suicide teaches students how to identify signs of depression and suicide in themselves and their peers, while training school professionals, parents, and community members to recognize at-risk students and take appropriate action. Using SOS, 90% of schools have seen an increase in students seeking help for themselves or a friend, with 95% believing the program also reduced stigma in schools.