2026 Conference Archive

District Leadership in PBIS

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

M.Ed

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2016

First Presenter's Field of Study

Education

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Eastern University

First Presenter's Institution

InMind Services

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Josh MacNeill is an internationally recognized leader in the movement to provide brain-based, trauma-informed support for children. Josh began his career as a teacher, where he saw first- hand the need to discover new approaches to effectively support all children. Josh’s success in the classroom quickly propelled him to work with schools, human service organizations, police departments, and governments across the world. In 2022, Josh co-founded InMind Services with one simple mission, “to support those who support children”. Additionally, Josh is the author of 101 Brain Breaks and Brain-Based Educational Activities and an adjunct Professor in Eastern University’s M.Ed. program.

Location

Scarbrough 1

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support

Relevance to Primary Strand

The topic of the presentation particularly focuses on areas 1, 2, and 4 under the PBIS strand because of its focus on how to utilize the principles of trauma-informed work to establish cohesive tier 1 strategies that are modeled through district leadership and reinforced through policy.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

This workshop, targeted toward leaders, focuses on how PBIS begins at the district level and with tier 1, universal, trauma-informed strategies and approaches. Participants will leave the session with the blueprint for how to move their district toward a more supportive, trauma-informed culture that not only decreases the need for tier 2&3 supports, but also aligns a consistent ladder of support when tiers 2&3 are needed.

Summary

This proposed workshop begins by asking participants to reflect on what a district utopia would look like for them-- typically generating answers that reflect smooth procedures, reduced crises, calm students, happy professionals, and genuine access to high quality instruction. Using these as a foundation, the presenter will provide an overview of the principles of trauma-informed care and then map them over specific, tangible strategies that can be done universally within a district as part of tier 1 programming. Often when school districts approach PBIS, they do so through the lens of providing tiers 2 and 3 strategies, but that is premature if the district isn't effectively supporting a tier 1 foundation. Specific strategies include training on the impact of trauma in student access to instruction, self-care planning for teachers, leadership access, calm/peace corners, routine/structure/predictability, schoolwide SEL, brain breaks, and culturally responsive instruction.

Evidence

Our organization does independent research on our work within schools and districts to determine if we are effectively able to reduce undesirable behaviors and, more importantly, increase desirable behaviors. Additionally, we are trained in the Neurosequential Model of Education, which provides some of the foundational research support for the suggested strategies. Each strategy we suggest is one we have seen work effectively in partner schools and is supported by underlying research.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to identify the trauma-informed principles.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to plan for universal tier 1 strategies within their district.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to effectively support their individual schools in establishing a school climate based on trauma-informed principles.

Start Date

6-2-2026 1:00 PM

End Date

6-2-2026 2:00 PM

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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Jun 2nd, 1:00 PM Jun 2nd, 2:00 PM

District Leadership in PBIS

Scarbrough 1

This proposed workshop begins by asking participants to reflect on what a district utopia would look like for them-- typically generating answers that reflect smooth procedures, reduced crises, calm students, happy professionals, and genuine access to high quality instruction. Using these as a foundation, the presenter will provide an overview of the principles of trauma-informed care and then map them over specific, tangible strategies that can be done universally within a district as part of tier 1 programming. Often when school districts approach PBIS, they do so through the lens of providing tiers 2 and 3 strategies, but that is premature if the district isn't effectively supporting a tier 1 foundation. Specific strategies include training on the impact of trauma in student access to instruction, self-care planning for teachers, leadership access, calm/peace corners, routine/structure/predictability, schoolwide SEL, brain breaks, and culturally responsive instruction.