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WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The Summer Institute is designed for K-8 teachers.

SCHEDULE
Monday, August 11 - Thursday, August 14
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

 

COST
August 11 & 12: Berit Gordon ($800)
August 13: Sarah Ward ($400)
August 14: Lindsay Astor Grant ($400)
August 11-14: All three amazing speakers ($1,200)
Lunch is included.
 

LOCATION
The institute will take place at Mark Day School in San Rafael, located 17 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Mark Day School
39 Trellis Drive
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 472-8000

 

INSTITUTE SPEAKERS

Berit Gordon, author of The Joyful Teacher, taught middle and high school for many years, and she still teaches part-time. She supports schools across the U.S. and Canada in literacy and best practices across content areas. Teachers enjoy her warm and relatable style, her personalized strategies, and her solutions for the hard parts of teaching. They leave energized with tools that produce small shifts right away in student engagement and skills.

Day 1: Bringing Joy Back: Creating Classrooms Where You and Your Students Thrive 

You'll walk away with: 

• Simple routines your students will follow (even when you have a sub!) 
• Practical alternatives to those behavior systems that leave you exhausted from constant monitoring 
• Strategies that work well for your students with ADHD, autism, and anxiety 
• Ways to get students talking to each other instead of always to you 
• A personalized plan for a well-managed classroom that feels doable, not overwhelming 

There will be lots of practical strategies, plenty of time to chat with colleagues, adapt ideas to your specific classroom, and even laugh a little (because sometimes that's what we need most). 

Day 2: Less Teacher Exhaustion, More Student Engagement: Practical Strategies That Work 

You'll head back to your classroom knowing how to: 

• Transform those students who constantly say "I need help" into confident self-starters 
• Keep your lessons moving without losing half the class along the way 
• Help your rush-through-everything students slow down, and your stuck-in-neutral kids get moving 
• Set up routines that let you sit down with small groups while everyone else stays productively engaged 
• Support your students who struggle without having to be by their side every minute 

The day will feel like a conversation among colleagues rather than a lecture, with plenty of time to share your wisdom and challenges. You'll leave with strategies you can implement from the start of the year, making your teaching life and students' learning experience more satisfying from day one. 

Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections has over 25 years of experience in diagnostic evaluations, treatment and case management of children, adolescents and adults with a wide range of developmental and acquired brain-based learning difficulties and behavioral problems (including Attention Deficit Disorder, Verbal Learning Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and more).Her particular interest is in the assessment and treatment of executive function deficits. She holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. 

 

Lindsay Astor Grant, MA, OTR/L, is a licensed pediatric occupational therapist. She earned her M.A. in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California. In 2018, Lindsay founded Learning Redesigned, working as an independent consultant for schools and learning communities. She leads professional development workshops, provides educator coaching, and speaks at parent education seminars on topics including Executive Function, Sensory Integration, Classroom Layout and Design, Movement-Based Learning, and Motor Development. Lindsay has been a guest speaker at USC, UCLA, National Childhood Education Conferences, professional child development courses, and early childhood, elementary, and secondary schools throughout Los Angeles and across the country.

Session for Elementary Teachers:

Are your students struggling with organizing their materials, following daily routines, managing their time, completing homework, planning long-term assignments? Have you noticed an increasing number of students having difficulty sustaining their attention or exhibiting impulse control during classroom lessons? You are not alone. Increasingly, educators are observing that children are finding it harder to develop essential executive function (EF) skills, which are critical for their academic success and overall development.

In this engaging and interactive workshop, participants will learn to define the various EF skills and understand their impact on the brain’s ability to be in an optimal state for learning. Discover why it is important to integrate the teaching of EF skills alongside your academic curriculum to help improve overall student success and promote positive classroom behaviors. Additionally, we will concentrate on designing classroom environments that foster EF skill development, creating an educational space tailored to meet the diverse needs of all learners. You will leave with practical tools and strategies to support the development of organizational skills, time management, problem-solving, impulse control, emotional regulation, working memory, as well as increased independence and resilience in your students.

Session for Middle School Teachers: 

Are your students struggling with organizing materials, managing time effectively, completing homework, planning long-term assignments, or navigating digital work? Have you noticed an increasing number of students experiencing difficulties with attention, impulse control, and self-regulation during classroom instruction? These are just a few of the executive function (EF) skills essential for middle school success.

In this interactive workshop, learn to define the different EF skills and understand their impact on the brain's ability to be in an optimal state for learning. Discover why explicitly integrating EF instruction into the curriculum can foster stronger academic performance and more positive classroom behaviors. This workshop focuses on creating classroom environments that support EF skill development, designing educational spaces tailored to neurodiverse learning styles, and developing a scope and sequence for frontloading EF instruction in the first few months of the school year. Leave with actionable strategies to improve attention, positive engagement, independence, and resilience, while strengthening key EF skills such as organization, emotional regulation, impulse control, time management, and problem-solving.

 

CANCELLATION POLICY
We understand that sometimes those who have registered for our summer institutes cannot attend due to illness or a change of plans. Please read our cancellation and refund policy below, which has been developed in an effort to allow for as much flexibility as possible for participants while also ensuring our ability to make arrangements in advance for catering and facilitators.

Refunds are available (less a $50 processing fee) up to 30 days before the scheduled starting date. We are unable to provide refunds for cancellations made 29 days or less prior to the first day of the summer institute. Registration may be transferred to a different person at any time. If you become ill just before the summer institute, we encourage you to find a colleague to use your registration in your place.  Refunds cannot be given for individual days or portions of the summer institute missed for any reason.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you cannot attend the institute. This will allow us time to fill your spot.

 

Questions? Contact Bonnie Nishihara at bnishihara@markdayschool.org with questions.
 

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