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• KSSWA Member's Summer CEU Series - Tools for Transformation: Practical CBT Strategies for School Social Workers

  • When
    25 Jun 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom link to follow

  Register

  
  

  Presented By: Ashley O’Neal, LMSW

  School Social Worker, Tallgrass Student Learning Center, Topeka, Kansas

  Presentation Objectives

  By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  1. Understand the foundational principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and how they apply in a school setting.
  2. Identify key CBT tools that are developmentally appropriate and effective for use with students in individual or small group settings.
  3. Demonstrate how to implement simple, evidence-based CBT interventions for common issues such as anxiety, negative self-talk, and emotional regulation.
  4. Integrate CBT strategies into existing social work practice to support student mental health and academic success.
  5. Empower students with lifelong coping skills by teaching them to recognize and reframe unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.

  Presenter Bio

  Ashley O’Neal, LMSW, is a passionate school social worker at Tallgrass Student Learning Center in Topeka, Kansas, where she supports students with behavioral and emotional challenges. She brings an extensive background in corrections and court-involved settings, where she worked directly with gang-involved youth and adults experiencing severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). Ashley formerly served on the Kansas Gang Free Task Force and is a strong advocate for reentry programs, crime prevention, and intervention strategies that equip high-risk populations with the skills needed to become pro-social, contributing members of their communities.

  In her current role, Ashley integrates her mental health and justice system expertise with school-based social work, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and trauma-informed practices to help students regulate emotions, develop resilience, and succeed academically. She is known for her creative, relationship-centered approach to intervention and her commitment to empowering students through practical, skill-based support.

  Zoom Link

  Zoom link will be sent 1 week before, 1 day before, and the morning of the presentation. If you need technology support the day of due to broken zoom link or barriers please email KSSWA at: ksswa.ks.info@gmail.com

  This a free event available to KSSWA Member's only. If you are interested in becoming a member please visit our Membership page for more information.

  
  

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• KSSWA Member's Summer CEU Series - Partners in Practice: Defining the School Social Worker’s Role with Administration and Pathways to Leadership

  • When
    10 Jul 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Location
    Zoom Link to Follow

  Register

  
  

  KSSWA Summertime CE's Series Presents:

  Partners in Practice: Defining the School Social Worker’s Role with Administration and Pathways to Leadership

  CE Hours: 1

  Presented By Nicole Gilmore, LMSW

  Assistant Principal at Winfield Scott Elementary School in Fort Scott, Kansas

  Adjunct Instructor at the University of Kansas School of Social Work

  Presentation Objectives

  By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

  1. Define the critical components of an effective school social worker–administrator partnership.

  2. Articulate the unique value and role of school social workers within the school leadership team.
  3. Implement strategies to clarify and advocate for the social work role with administrators and school staff.
  4. Identify pathways and skills necessary for school social workers to transition into administrative roles.
  5. Reflect on personal leadership strengths and how they align with broader educational leadership needs.

  Presenter Bio

  Nicole Gilmore is the Assistant Principal at Winfield Scott Elementary School in Fort Scott, Kansas, and an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Kansas School of Social Work, where she was named the 2023–2024 Outstanding Adjunct of the Year. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington–Seattle, dual bachelor's degrees from the University of Kansas, and a Building Principal Certification from Pittsburg State University. Her background encompasses school social work, nonprofit administration, child welfare, medical social work, international social work, and public policy. Mrs. Gilmore has served in leadership roles with the Kansas School Social Workers Association, PACCC, and the Cherokee County LHEAT. She has also contributed to the KUMC School-Based Mental Health ECHO project and the Horatio Alger Association’s national and state scholarship initiatives.

  Zoom link will be sent 1 week before, 1 day before, and the morning of the presentation. If you need technology support the day of due to broken zoom link or barriers please email KSSWA at: ksswa.ks.info@gmail.com

  *This a free event available to KSSWA Member's only. If you are interested in becoming a member please visit our Membership page for more information.

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• KSSWA CE Summertime Series Presents: KSDE Bullying & Prevention Toolkit

  • When
    21 Jul 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom link to follow

  Register

  

  OPEN TO ALL SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS AND EDUCATIONAL ALLIES

  Presenter: Trish Backman, KSDE School Mental Health Coordinator

  Presentation Title: Bullying and Prevention Toolkit

  CE Hours: 1

  Meet the NEW KSDE Bullying Prevention Toolkit!

  The Kansas State Department of Education Bullying Prevention Toolkit is designed to be a guidance document each district can use to build its local policies, practices, and procedures required by law to prevent bullying.  This session will focus on building a district level bullying prevention plan.  By implementing this framework, schools will begin the work to build an upstander culture of support.  This framework identifies evidence-based practices and procedures to support students, staff, families, and the local community against the effects of bullying.  This session provides steps to create local building and district-level plans that creating a culture of support and skill building that strengthens all students and staff involved.

  Objectives:

  1. Define Bullying and Identify the process each school will design and implement to address bullying

  2. Identify lacking skill for bully and target

  3. Prepare to build an Upstander Culture

  Zoom link will be sent 1 week before, 1 day before, and the morning of the presentation. If you need technology support the day of due to broken zoom link or barriers please email KSSWA at: ksswa.ks.info@gmail.com

  
  

  
  

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• KSSWA Fall Conference

  • When
    3 Oct 2025
  • Location
    Online

  Save the Date! Our fall conference will be October 3rd online! More information to follow!

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