2026 Bridge Conference

Lay the foundation for creating a safe, healthy, and respectful environment. Utilize proactive group management strategies to set students up for successful group behavior, focusing on building rapport, attention getters and signals, rules and consequences and more. Playworks supports K-5 students at recess. This session is directed toward recess staff, and out of school time staff who support play at their site.

Step into a Peace Circle and experience how restorative practices transform the way we respond to harm. In this interactive session, you will sit in circle, hold the talking piece, and practice the core elements of circle keeping so you can keep circles in your own school or program. Through a hands-on activity, you will examine the difference between accountability and punishment and rethink what it means to repair harm rather than simply punish. You will leave with
practical circle keeping tools, a framework you can apply immediately, and a felt sense of how circles work. Designed for educators and youth-serving professionals who want restorative options that build community, strengthen relationships, and keep young people connected.

Join middle school youth and educators, as they share insights from DOOL, a schoolbased program that builds inclusive communities, shifts power-dynamics and inspires communitycentered change. This is an engaging, interactive, and inspiring workshop that models shared power and youth leadership. Prepare to leave with new tools that can help you to transform your youth program communities and systems for the better.