As a mental health professional and school administrator, it is difficult to find professional development opportunities that are thought-provoking, fresh, and applicable while remaining anchored in research and best practices. Our time spent together exceeded all of those points for me. When I registered for the institute, I hoped to gather some ideas to revamp our Advisory program in the Upper School. We are struggling to get it up and running, which has left many feeling that the program does not add value and that it takes away teaching time. I left my time with you full of ideas and excitement to implement programming that will help our students reconnect with their emotionality and thoughts.

The activities and sessions were intentional and I appreciated the threaded concepts that linked each session together. Every activity had a purpose and helped me better understand the concept of social emotional learning as an everyday instructional strategy. Much of what I hear from my teachers involves reluctance to "add" to their responsibilities and we are working toward integration, rather than addition, and simple techniques such as a Check In and the emotional thermometer are both effective and non-threatening for the reluctant educator. We will certainly put these (and other techniques) in place this fall and are looking forward to watching our faculty and students grow!

Thank you for the time and thought that your team puts into these events. I left excited, energized, and ready to start the new school year in a positive and mindful manner.