Target Audience: Special Education Paraprofessionals
The Special Education Paraprofessional Academy is a high-impact professional learning experience designed to equip paraprofessionals with the knowledge, tools, and confidence they need to support students with disabilities effectively. Through a blend of interactive training sessions, hands-on strategies, and real-world application, participants will deepen their understanding of instructional support, behavior management, communication strategies, and compliance basics.
Whether new to the role or looking to grow their skill set, paraprofessionals will walk away with practical techniques they can use immediately to promote inclusion, independence, and student success.
The Location of the Academy will be at Northeast Christian Church (990 Star Shoot Pkwy, Lexington, KY 40509)
Lunch will be on your own.
6 PD Hours will be provided
Target Audience: K-12 teachers, principals, and district administrators
This introductory training, led by world-renowned educator, trainer, author, and consultant Dr. Mike Rutherford, is based on his best-selling book The Artisan Teacher. The most successful teachers are skillful. They do things. They make moves. They teach with an attention to detail and a level of execution that produces extra success for learners. They see teaching as a set of skills, some natural and some learned, that combine to produce optimal learning for students. As I have thought about this skillful approach and how it might be best described, I am reminded of an old term that has recently enjoyed a renaissance. The term is Artisan. The teachers who best exemplify this skillful approach to instruction are Artisan Teachers; skilled in the craft of teaching.
EILA provided
Target Audience: CKEC and Statewide Crisis Response Team members
This day is for all CKEC Crisis Response Team leads and other team members who wish to join. Part of the day will include the annual psychological first aid training and updates required to be a part of the team.
Contact mark.helton@ckec.org with questions.
6 hours of EILA.
Target Audience: Any School or District Crisis Response Team Member
This 2-day workshop develops the knowledge and skills required to provide immediate mental health crisis interventions to the students, staff, and school community members who have been simultaneously exposed to an acute traumatic stressor. The PREPaRE model emphasizes:
- preventing and preparing for crises
- reaffirming physical health and welfare, and perceptions of safety and security
- evaluating psychological trauma risk
- providing interventions
- responding to mental health needs
- examining the effectiveness of crisis preparedness
$250 for Member Districts and $300 for Non-Member Districts
NOTE: Registration Deadline is Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 12:00 noon ET.
6 Hours of EILA will be available each day. Participants must commit to attending both days and allow for some preparation time prior to the training.
Target Audience: School/District Crisis Team Members, School Mental Health Professionals, Administrators, Teachers, Pupil Services Personnel, SROs, Front Office Staff, Transportation Directors, Communication Directors, Operations Personnel, and Before and After School Activities Coordinators
In this 1-day workshop, participants will learn how to establish and sustain comprehensive school safety efforts that attend to both physical and psychological safety. The workshop addresses critical components needed to develop, exercise, and evaluate safety and crisis teams and plans, and conduct building vulnerability assessments. The model also integrates school personnel and community provider roles in providing school-based crisis preparedness and response activities. Additional topics addressed also include media/social media, communication, reunification, students with special needs, culture, and memorials. After this workshop, participants will be better prepared to improve their school’s climate, student resilience, and crisis response capabilities of school personnel. With updated research and strategies, this workshop makes a clear connection between ongoing crisis prevention, mitigation, protection, response, and recovery. PREPaRE Workshop 1 provides a broad overview of the school crisis team’s roles and responsibilities, with a special emphasis on crisis prevention and preparedness.
NOTE: Registration Deadline is Friday, September 5, 2025, at 12:00 noon ET.
$150 fee for Member Districts and $200 for Non-Member Districts
6 hours of EILA credit will be available. Participants must allow time for some preparation prior to the training. Contact mark.helton@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: Grades Pre-K-2. Special Education and General Education Teachers of students with disabilities, Instructional Coaches, & Paraprofessionals (must attend with collaborating teacher)
Student Numeracy Assessment Progressions (SNAP) is a two-day course that provides professional development in administering and analyzing concise, diagnostic, individual assessment in early numeracy. Topics include number words and numeral identification, structuring, and addition and subtraction strategies. This formative assessment system provides a way to track individual and group performance and enables teachers to differentiate instruction based on the results. SNAP is most appropriate for pre-kindergarten through first-grade classrooms and special education teachers.
Participants MUST attend both days and use the assessment interview with students between sessions. $250 fee for Member and Non-Member districts.
Contact mark.helton@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: Special Education Administrators, School Psychologists, Principals, ARC Chairs
Do you understand what data you consider when conducting an MDR? What does “relationship to the disabling condition” mean? Do you review evaluation data? How much consideration do you give to data outside the school setting that is provided by the parents? Get answers to these questions and more. Hear the analyses provided by court decisions. Ask questions to an attorney who is highly experienced in special education matters.
Target Audience: General Education, Special Education, Instructional Coaches, and Math Interventionists
This virtual training will dive into Artificial Intelligence tools teachers can use to support instructional practice and routines in math class. Participants will engage with various AI tools and practice creating products from the AI platforms. There will be an emphasis on tools that support struggling learners in mathematics. Contact jane.goatley@ckec.org with any questions.
Target Audience: K-12 Principals and District Administrators
Strong evaluation practices are a key to school improvement, but sometimes the process becomes so regimented and formal that we miss authentic opportunities for teacher growth. In this session, administrators will receive practical evaluation tools and strategies that lead to student success.
Free for CKEC Principals, $200 for participants from Non-CKEC Districts
6 Hours EILA Credit. Contact david.young@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: School Psychologists, School Counselors, School Safety Officers, Members of School-Based Threat Assessment Teams
Join us for a full-day workshop on the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG)—a proven, research-based model developed by the University of Virginia to help schools prevent violence and promote student well-being. Rooted in decades of research on school safety, CSTAG empowers school teams to identify, assess, and respond to student threats in a fair, balanced, and effective manner. This training equips educators, administrators, and school-based mental health professionals with practical tools to distinguish serious threats from transient behaviors, reduce unnecessary suspensions, and foster a positive school climate. Learn how to make data-driven, team-based decisions that keep students safe and supported. For more information, please contact maggie.hartlage@ckec.org. EILA Credit
