The BreakFree Edupalooza
An online, professional development series for educators working in secure facilities
April 25 - May 6 2022
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A two-week-long series of presentations highlighting innovative and creative practices taking place in schools inside of secure juvenile facilities across the country. Presentations are led directly by teachers and education leaders currently doing the incredible work of making school happen in secure facilities around the country, along with student speakers.
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The goal of BreakFree's Edupalooza is to shine a positive light on individuals who are taking on this challenge, and to encourage and provide other educators with the tools and network of support needed to do the same.
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Live Event
Dwayne Betts
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Award-winning poet, Director of the Million Book Project and criminal justice lawyer, Betts often speaks about his own experience: his trek from incarceration to Yale Law School and the role that grit, perseverance and literature played in his success.
4:00 PM EST
Monday May 3rd
Live Event
Sha'Condria "iCon" Sibley
New Orleans-based poet, writer, performing artist, visual artist, and teaching artist, iCon is a multiple-time team and individual national and regional poetry slam champion. She has taught poetry and spoken word to youth in juvenile facilities.
4:00 PM EST
Wednesday May 5th
Pre-Recorded Presentation Schedule
All presentations below will be shared via the daily email to Edupalooza registrants
How to Change Culture One Teacher, One Facility at a Time
3
May
Mon
Listen in on how the Vel R. Phillips School in Wauwatosa, WI transformed into a first class school in a juvenile facility by shifting the culture to one of high expectations, one staff member at a time. Lessons learned and resources will be shared.
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Presenter: Bill Anderson
We have the Chromebook, now what? A conversation about implementing Chromebooks and Responsible Use Policies
3
May
Mon
Learn how a responsible use policy can help staff, teachers, and students successfully implement new technology. Listen to practical stories from our roll out before and after having the right policies and procedures to help students be succesfull with technology integration.
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Presenter: Lilian Ijomah
A Walk Through the Digital Classroom
3
May
Mon
Come take a walk through Elizabeth's digital classroom, as she shares her poetry unit. She'll take you step by step through the process of building a digital unit, from generating ideas to implementing them. She'll showcase the different ways you can use apps in a secure space to create an interactive experience.
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Presenter: Elizabeth Monteiro
Getting Started with Restorative Practices
4
May
Tues
Learn more about the restorative approach in this beginner's session.You'll learn how to respond to challenging behaviors using restorative rather than punitive practices. These practices will help facilitate community building, repair harm, and strengthen relationships.
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Presenter: Vanity Nealy
The Ups and Downs of Rolling Out Google Workspace
4
May
Tues
The pandemic forced a lot of spaces to rethink the way they they deliver content for students. The solutions are not always easy! Tune into the story of Copper Lake & Lincoln Hills School in WI and the lessons they learned through their Chromebook/Google roll out.
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Presenter: Scott Schult and Wendy Peterson
Stories With Style: Student Expression through Hip Hop Culture
5
May
Wed
The team from eam from Kings County Office of Education will share how to engage students with options and tools to express themselves and their personal stories in a variety of ways; through rap/spoken word, creating their own beats, and/or creating visual art of their own persona that can be turned into their own sticker. They'll share about their Stories With Style program, its intention, lessons learned, feedback from the students, and their future plans.
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Presenter: Ed Campos and Elizabeth Norris
Trauma, Compassion, Connection: 3 Activities You Can Facilitate in Your Setting
5
May
Wed
What is your capacity to meet the trauma needs of your students? Addressing trauma requires you to build sustainable relationships. Learn more about your role as a caregiver and your capcity to meet all your students needs.
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Presenter: Dean Heus
Tech Trainer Tips
5
May
Wed
The key to running a tech-infused classroom is the training and support that you offer your teachers. Check out this session to learn how to embed weekly teacher training and creative problem solving into your schools. Don't forget the helpful hints that will turn your tech implementation from transitional to transformational!
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Presenter: Andrew Howard III
What's Black and White and Read All Over? The Titan Tribune!
6
May
Thur
Members from Miami-Dade School District will share about their student newspaper, Titan Tribune. The Tribune operates through a collaboration with Exchange for Change, a local non-profit that focuses on writing in secure settings. Learn more about how to approach to writing with the students and organizing a student publication!
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Presenter: Dan Wynne and Henry Unger
Designing Culturally Relevant Curriculum
6
May
Thur
For the past eight years, BreakFree Education has designed curricular initiatives for students in juvenile facilities nationwide. In this session, we'll share our guidebook of design tips, resources and tools, along with engaging and culturally relevant curriculum that's beneficial for all students.
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Presenter: Kat Crawford and Kaylah Holland
Turn It Up! Teaching Music in the JJ Classroom
7
May
Fri
Teaching music production in a detention center can present some unique challenges. Join Sage as he introduces you to some creative projects that keep his highly transitionary environment buzzing with creativity. Sage will share student projects. This session is guaranteed to be music to your ears.
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Presenter: Sage Satterfield
Making Learning Engaging, Relevant and Meaningful: A spotlight on BreakFree's monthly initiatives
7
May
Fri
Come learn about BreakFree's plans for expanding our monthly initiatives as we announce our 2021-2022 lineup! From our classics like Words Unlocked and Unbound to some exciting top-secret new ones (that we can't wait to share), we'll be sponsoring a set of 10 initiatives running monthly from August through May. Each will include a curricular project and nationwide contest.
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Presenter: The BreakFree Education Team
FAQ
Who should participate in the BreakFree Edupalooza?
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The Edupalooza is designed for teachers and education leaders who work in juvenile detention and similar settings. Some of the workshops will be teacher-focused; others will delve into issues more relevant to school principals, school district and juvenile justice agency leadership. We will label workshops to help individuals know in advance who the most relevant audience is for each session.
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Is there a fee to participate?
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All of the workshops and the entire week-long BreakFree Edupalooza is free.
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What is the format of the event?
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The BreakFree Edupalooza will be virtual. Some of the workshops will be pre-recorded and others will be held live and also recorded so that participants can watch them at their convenience.
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Preliminarily we anticipate sharing a morning email that announces the day’s workshops. Each day we will post a number of 20 to 30 minute pre-recorded workshops ready and available for viewing. In addition, each day we will host a live (and recorded) close-out event. The daily close-outs will include brief Q & A with presenters whose workshops were featured that day, a focus speaker/topic, and fun activities (such as a talent show and open mic/spoken word competition). We will also have an active social media presence during the BreakFree Edupalooza, sponsoring twitter chats, facebook posts/live events, and more.
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Can the workshop videos be used to facilitate group or school-wide Professional Development Workshops or are they meant to be watched/used individually?
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Many of the pre-recorded workshops will work well as starter exercises for school- or agency-wide professional development activities. We encourage school leaders to consider organizing site-based trainings around the workshop recordings. Many of the workshops will also work well for educators to participate individually, on their own.
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