Our identities are shaped by the stories we carry, the traditions we uphold, and the experiences that make us who we are. This workshop invites educators to explore culture beyond checkboxes—embracing the rich, everyday ways we express who we are. Through reflection, storytelling, and practical strategies, we’ll learn how to create a classroom environment where everyone feels seen, valued, and empowered to bring their whole, amazing selves into the learning space.

HOW we show up for young people in these challenging moments is what matters. When we approach conflict through empathy, listening, questioning and shared decision-making, we restore relationships. When we restore relationships, we also restore a sense of belonging. This workshop module offers indispensable strategies to add restorative practices to your toolkit.

Discover...
• the difference between punitive and restorative practices
• why restorative practice matters
• questioning strategies for restorative conversations

We all have emotional hot buttons that cause us to show up as less than our best. Once we see and recognize these triggers, we can regain control over them. One important part of the process is to understand what sets us off. When we add clear action steps for what to do in these moments, we can quickly get back to showing up fully for our youth.

Discover...
• what part the brain plays in reactionary behavior
• how past messages impact our current emotions
• your personalized plan for managing hot buttons

mar, 4 mar 2025 09:30 - 12:30 MST

El Entrenamiento Emocional es un enfoque hacia las emociones de los jóvenes que aceptan y validan las emociones, mientras proporcionar orientación y herramientas, cuando es necesario, para apoyar las habilidades de manejo emocional de los jóvenes.

I Matter Colorado was established in 2021 to provide access to mental health and substance use disorder services for youth, in response to the growing need that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is open to youth 18 years of age or younger, or 21 years of age or younger if receiving special education services. The program provides six FREE therapy sessions for youth in Colorado!

Join us on March 4th from 9am-11am for our Coffee and Conversation: I Matter Colorado Experience! Attendees will be given an opportunity to learn more about this incredible program and how they can offer it to the youth that they serve! Our facilitator, Tripti Sharma MA LPC, manages I Matter with the Behavioral Health Administration and works with the Colorado Department of Education's Project AWARE team as co-coordinator. She is passionate about increasing access to behavioral health care for Coloradoan’s across the state. 

Hint: it’s not about fixing, changing or walking in someone’s shoes. Joy, pain, struggle, fear — empathy is about companioning someone in their experience, as-is — without trying to make it better, go away, or change it. And that takes practice. In this cornerstone workshop about social and emotional development, you will be asked to experience empathy, explore what defines it, and learn how to create an empathy-infused space for the young people you work with.

Discover...
• what it means to have empathy
• what empathy is not
• how to create an empathy-filled space

jue, 13 feb 2025 09:30 - 12:30 MST

Con tiempo, apoyo y facilitación, los trabajadores jovenes pueden ayudar a otros jóvenes a desarrollar ambos habilidades sólidas de construcción de equipos y un sentido de confianza e identidad grupal. Los participantes en este taller aprenderán y aplicarán técnicas para brindar normas y facilitación. Se dedicará tiempo a aplicar y estructurar técnicas para apoyar a los jóvenes en la gestión de sus estilos de comunicación y en la aplicación de habilidades para la resolución de conflictos.

Let's welcome 2025 with connection!

Building community and deepening relationships is a priority for the DAA in 2025. Join us on Wednesday, January 29th from 9am-11am for an opportunity to meet, connect and network with peers in the Out-of-School Time community! We all share the goal of providing access to high quality afterschool and summer programming for youth, so come ready to share and learn about all the diverse OST opportunities Denver has to offer.

As an added bonus, this event will take place at the new Blossom House Community Hub (3300 W Nevada Place, Denver, CO 80219)! Cultivated by LifeSpan Local, this hub will include early childhood education, a Denver Public Library branch, a community kitchen, youth space, community spaces and much more!

In this workshop participants will explore how responsibility and leadership fit within a broader SEL framework and develop practical skills to model roles and responsibilities and support youth in leveraging their strengths, interests, and leadership style as part of groups and relationships. Participants will practice applying techniques learned to their programs with an eye toward facilitating youth ownership.

Art from Ashes exists to empower struggling youth by providing creative programs that facilitate health and hope through expression, connection, and transformation.

Join us for an exciting Art From Ashes experience! Check out their space, meet their team and experience what they do!

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

When it comes to strong emotions, what we see is rarely what is actually going on with a child. Powerful emotions invite us to check assumptions at the door and go deeper into what’s really causing the behavior. These micro-opportunities for long-term growth can have an indelibly positive impact on children. This workshop offers practical solutions and strategies to navigate the landscape of strong emotions — how they can present in unusual ways, and how we can support youth when they’re in the thick of what they’re feeling.

Discover…

• the underlying reasons for displayed behavior

• how emotions present in different and sometimes surprising ways

• targeted strategies to embrace emotional expression

EVERY BEHAVIOR STARTS WITH A FEELING

Children, like adults, have emotional emergencies — they just look different from ours. On closer inspection, we learn that there’s a predictable pattern to escalation — an arc of sorts, that if caught in time, can re-direct outcomes from explosive to calm. Using a child-first, relationship-centered mindset, this module teaches us that strong behaviors are no mystery, and that all feelings make sense. We also discover that preventative techniques (like focusing on connection), can help facilitate a sense of calm.

Discover…

• that the best strategy for de-escalation is prevention

• five specific strategies to help young people bring calm to strong feelings

• five adult behaviors to avoid, in the presence of strong feeling

The Active Learning method provides practical strategies for actively engaging young people in their own learning process by providing meaningful, challenging content with strong adult support.

SHOWING UP MATTERS

Being truly present means consciously choosing to show up with a heightened level of awareness. And it matters big-time! Positive or negative — the choice is always ours, but either way, count on a ripple effect. Once we understand that our adult actions and attitudes have a direct impact on the youth we serve (and all who support them), we can choose to show up differently.

Discover…

• mindful strategies for showing up positively

• the ripple effect of adult attitudes & behaviors

• how your presence impacts relationships

Data is VERY Cool...

To the Numbers and Beyond!
How do you react when you are asked to “collect data” at your sites or for your organization? Often times we don’t even know WHY we are asked to collect data. If we don’t understand why, how can we share its impact with all our stakeholders, including families? 

Join the DAA Collective Leadership Team on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 from 9am-11am to discuss the vital importance of collecting, interpreting and sharing data (numbers and beyond!). Why is it important to gather accurate data from programs?  How can we use data to tell a story? How do you explain how participants’ data will be used to parents? How can the DAA help your organization with their data efforts? All this and more...let's talk about it

With time, support, and facilitation, youth workers can help young people have both strong teambuilding skills and a sense of trust and group identity. Participants in this workshop will learn and apply norm building and facilitation techniques. Time will be spent applying and scaffolding techniques to support youth in managing their communication styles and applying conflict resolution skills.

Cooperative Learning gives strategies for successfully incorporating interactive, interdependent, goal-oriented group work into youth programs. Working in pairs or groups supports young people in being active, self-directing and expressive.

CARING ENOUGH TO MANAGE THE DETAILS

It is our job to control the things we can: our lessons, time, space and materials. Planning ahead with intentionality allows us to focus on children in the moment, which is always the point. The message young people get with each well-thought-out lesson plan, choice of materials, or age-appropriate option, is that they matter. And that’s everything at The Flourish Lab.

Discover…

• how to become a genius at managing time and materials

• effective space planning for greater engagement

• The connection between lesson-planning and relationships and presence

This course focuses on making homework help time effective by helping youth get organized, by providing an atmosphere that helps youth focus on their work, and by building a supportive relationship with youth. This is done through communication, productive settings, and supportive interaction.

This method introduces the "active-participatory approach" which is the foundational philosophy for all our other youth work methods workshops. In an active-participatory approach, adults engage young people socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically as active participants in their own learning and development. Positive Youth Development means young people can thrive when they feel safe and supported to learn and lead.

Emotion Coaching is an approach to young people's emotions that accepts and validates the emotions, while still providing guidance and tools, when needed, to support young people's emotion management skills. Participants are given a step-by-step guide to emotion coaching and given opportunities to practice their emotion coaching skills.

INVEST IN MOMENTS

We believe relationships are built (or broken), in a series of moments, and that fostering a sense of belonging is essential for all to thrive. Knowing how to build positive, youth-friendly relationships, and understanding exactly what to avoid in the process, is an invaluable skill set for every youth-serving adult.

Discover…

• why relationships matter

• the importance of belonging

• how trust is something you can bank on

Let’s talk Next Generation hiring and retention!

Join members of DU's Career and Professional Development department for a conversation around strategies and best practices for successfully recruiting and hiring young adults and college-aged students for part-time and full-time positions.

As adults, our ability to support young people in identifying and managing their emotions starts with our ability to do the same. In this experiential workshop, participants will deepen their understanding of how people interpret and feel emotions; how they personally experience hot buttons and emotional activation; and explore self-regulation.

This workshop gives youth workers practical tools to build problem solving opportunities into programs and support young people with in-the-moment problem solving. Participants will learn the basics of how our brain solves problems and will practice a model for helping young people define and explore problems, preparing them to take action and learn from them.

Optimal growth and learning occur when trusted and encouraging adults provide young people with enough challenge, with enough support. This workshop helps youth workers learn practical ways to normalize struggle and foster growth mindset in a balanced and nuanced way that acknowledges social inequities while encouraging perseverance, high expectations, and hope.

Showing up matters!

Being truly present means consciously choosing to show up with a heightened level of awareness. And it matters big-time! Positive or negative—the choice is always ours, and either way, count on a ripple effect. Once we understand that our adult actions and attitudes have a direct impact on the youth we serve (and all who support them), we can choose to show up differently.

Discover…

• mindful strategies for showing up positively

• the ripple effect of adult attitudes & behaviors

• how your presence impacts relationships

• how to leave your “stuff” at the door

With time, support, and facilitation youth workers can help young people have both strong teambuilding skills and a sense of trust and group identity. Participants in this workshop will learn and apply norm building and facilitation techniques. Time will be spent applying and scaffolding techniques to support youth in managing their communication styles and applying conflict resolution skills.

Caring enough to manage the details!

It is our job to control the things we can: our lessons, time, space and materials.

Planning ahead with intentionality allows us to focus on children in the moment, which is always the point. The message young people get with each well-thought-out lesson plan, choice of materials, or age-appropriate option, is that they matter.

Discover…

• how to become a genius at managing materials

• basic lesson-planning strategies

• effective space planning for greater engagement

• practical time management techniques

• simple clean-up plans to help you rock what’s next

• thoughtful back-up plans (exhale!)

Emotion Coaching is an approach to young people's emotions that accepts and validates the emotions, while still providing guidance and tools, when needed, to support young people's emotion management skills. Participants are given a step-by-step guide to emotion coaching and given opportunities to practice their emotion coaching skills.