Professional Development Resources for Staff

Montessori Pedagogy In the Classroom

Article: “Every Adult in the Environment”
- A Seven Step Guide for Adults – How to Interact with Children
Article: “The Myth of the Perfect Child”, by Sara Werner Andrews
- A must read for all staff.

ABAR with Britt Hawthorne (Resources)

Antiracist Resources for Parents and Teachers: Books, articles, podcasts, classroom materials
American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL) by Dr. Reese
White Immunity by Dr. Nolan Cabera
How to Make a People Basket by Britt Hawthorne
Social Justice Books for Teachers and Learners
Who Are People of the Global Majority

From Carolyn McDonald, Sunstone Student Support Specialist

Neurodivergence & Behavior Challenges

Podcast: The Neurodiversity Podcast, Creating and Fostering Autonomy and Motivation, with Emily Kircher -Morris
- In a world where autonomy is key to motivation and engagement, how do we navigate this with our children, especially those who are neurodivergent? Today, we’re exploring the vital role of independence and control in fostering engagement and motivation, not just in kids, but in all of us.
Podcast: Understanding Behaviors and Emotional Regulation with Mona Delahooke
- What is top down behavior, and how does it differ from bottom up behavior? Why is emotional regulation more difficult for neurodivergent people? How impactful or traumatic can a misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis be?
Book: Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges
- Written by Mona Delahooke, who is a pediatric psychologist. She has dedicated her career to promoting compassionate, relationship-based interventions for children with developmental, behavioral, emotional and learning differences. What is appealing to me is that she doesn’t focus on compliance, rather she shares ways to support a child’s body-based and emotional needs.
Documentary/Book (Autism): The Reason I Jump Documentary/ The Reason I Jump Book
Article: How to Support Self-Regulation Difficulties in Children by Cynthia Yoo, B.A., M.A., Registered Provisional Psychologist
Book: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer
- Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the teaching of plants INDIGENOUS WISDOM, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND THE TEACHINGS OF PLANTS
Podcast: Neurodiversity: A Conversation with Barry and Dave (Uniquely Human)
Podcast: ADS: Reframing behavior with Dr. Ross Greene and Mona Delahooke (The Yellow Ladybug)
- Challenging behavior is caused by lagging skills and not lagging motivation or manipulative behavior.
- Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) involves breaking down a problem to understand it, generating ideas to solve the problem, and evaluating those ideas to find the most effective solutions.
- This podcast, while it primarily discusses girls with autism and gender diverse students, is still a great resource for thinking about how to support children who may be masking as a means of surviving the school day and feeling misunderstood.
How to Motivate someone with ASD