NAPSA’s 56th Annual Conference will be held from October 16-19, 2022 at the Drury Plaza Hotel Pittsburgh Downtown. The conference will be presented in a hybrid format — opportunities to attend both in person or via virtual means. The conference theme is ‘Navigating the New Normal: Meeting Everyone Where They Are.’
Conference speakers will include members of Aevidum, a student club from the Cocalico (PA) School District that empowers youth to shatter the silence surrounding depression, suicide, and other issues facing teens. Created by students after a classmate died by suicide, Aevidum inspires schools and communities to adopt cultures of care and advocacy.
The Monday, October 17th keynote presentation will be “School Violence and Its Aftermath” by Dr. Mary Margaret Kerr, a much sought-after speaker on the national level. Dr. Kerr was appointed by the federal court in California to serve as Consent Decree Administrator for the Chanda Smith special education case in LAUSD, where she worked for nearly a decade to reform all special education services for over 82,000 students. Returning to the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Kerr directed training services for the University’s youth suicide and violence prevention center, STAR-Center, which provides crisis response services, training, and policy consultation to school districts and agencies across Pennsylvania.
The Tuesday, October 18th keynote presentation will be by Christian Moore, an internationally renowned speaker, licensed clinical social worker, and advocate for youth. He is the author of The Resilience Breakthrough, a guide for accessing resilience in a world of increasing instability and narrowing opportunity. Thousands of school districts across the U.S. have had Christian consult on how to increase resilience, lower dropout rates, improve school climate, prevent bullying, lessen the achievement gap, and improve academics through teaching social and emotional education to all students. His presentation titled “Resilience, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)” will provide timely, state-of-the-art information regarding a topic that is at the forefront throughout education.
Another Monday presentation will be by nationally recognized Super Lawyer Ira Weiss, Esq., who is known across the country for his excellence as a public sector legal authority with across-the-board experience in municipal, education, and tax law. An expert in education law, his presentation will be “Legal Issues Related to Pupil Services.” Attorney Weiss will touch upon legal issues in areas salient to pupil services administration, including special education. He will be accompanied by Annemarie Harr, Esq.
Also, from a legal perspective, on Tuesday Attorney Harr’s expertise with regard to Title IX issues will be on full display when she presents “Title IX: Its Ins, Outs, and Challenges” that will take a deep dive into the U.S. Department of Education’s 2022 proposed amendments to its Title IX Regulations, as well as other current Title IX issues. Attorney Harr counsels her clients on the requirements of Title IX and represents her clients in state and federal complaints and investigations under Title IX in addition to her work as a school solicitor and special counsel.
Monday’s line-up will also include NJAPSA’s Dr. Danielle Hamblin, Michael Maschi, and Tania Symmons, who will be addressing the pressing issue of school avoidance, an issue exacerbated by the pandemic and social and emotional insecurities related to returning to in-person learning. This presentation is titled “School Avoidance and Emotionally Fragile Kids” and will take an in-depth view of this pressing issue with a focus on the diverse nature of student need, precipitating factors, and barriers that must be addressed.
Madison Branham, RN is the School Nurse Coordinator for Oak Ridge (TN) Schools. The focus of her current practice is to keep students healthy, so they can achieve their goals both in and out of the classroom. With a particular focus on the unprecedented, rapidly-evolving, and diverse health needs of students, both physically and mentally, her Tuesday presentation will be on the “The Effective Delivery of School Health Services.” In keeping with its tradition of excellence in providing conferences with powerful presenters in order to provide outstanding professional development opportunities to pupil services professionals, NAPSA’s 56th annual conference is a must-see event!
For additional information, please contact NAPSA Executive Director Dr. Douglas Arnold, at napsa@ptd.net or call (570) 656-4286.