The 21st Annual Nebraska Middle Level Academy will be held at Elkhorn Ridge Middle School in Elkhorn, Nebraska on June 11, & 12, 2009.  This two day program provides middle level educators (grades 4-9) the opportunity to work on practical, proven, day-to-day activities that are effective in the education of the early adolescent.  This year's academy has been designed specifically to provide hands-on, as well as pragmatic middle level component information.

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*There is a special opportunity for people who register for the Academy this year to attend a FREE Pre-Conference session on June 10, 2009!

Developing the Art of Kid Whispering: Defiant youth outwit adults with strategies of fight, flight and fool. The facilitator describes how to understand the “private logic” of distrustful youth, thus helping the participants unlock the code of negative behavior and begin replacing hostile encounters with respectful alliance. Material presented comes from Re-Educating Troubling and Troubled Youth and Kids Who Outwit Adults both books by Dr. Larry Brendtro.

Dr. Chambers’ web address is [ http://www.prairieview.net/JC.htm ]http://www.prairieview.net/JC.htm  

About the Presenters:
Dr. J. C. Chambers. Dr. Chambers is a Licensed Psychologist in the state of South Dakota, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a level three Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Reclaiming Youth International which provides training, research and service to professionals, youth advocates, and at-risk youth and families. Dr. Chambers is a senior trainer for the Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute of Hagerstown,

Mark Freado. Freado has worked with private providers, public agencies, and schools throughout the United States as well as Canada, Europe, and Asia, delivering consulting and training services. He specializes in program development, leadership skills and interventions for at-risk and disadvantaged children, adolescents, and their families

Some of our topics may include:
(list will be updated as presenters are confirmed)

Homework Recovery
New and Exciting Foldables
Teachers in Balance
Clickers
Grading for Learning
Positive Behavior Support Systems
Consequences of being a victim
New technologies that impact and influence learning
8 to Great: The powerful process of positive change
Don't let your first year get you "Twisted"
Teaching literacy through youth & popular culture
Boosting vocabulary through Quia webpage
Co-Teaching in the Classroom
Asperger's Syndrome
Willie Wonka Interdisciplinary unit
Grammar in the context of writing: A new approach
Learning structures for students from poverty
L to J Useful Applications
Differentiated instruction
Descriptive Writing for the Middle School years
10 free on-line resources every teacher should know
Helping students define their world using GPS and Google Earth

and much, much more......