Cape Assist’s Summer Filled with Special Certification Workshops

Cape May County, NJ – Throughout the summer months, Cape Assist has been holding Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) and Trauma Responsive Classroom Leadership and Management workshops for professionals across the county. Led by educational specialist Michael McKnight, the workshops have been designed over the years to provide training to adults who are responsible for young people with behavioral struggles and or requiring emotional support in educational settings.

Just last week, McKnight spent three and a half days with the entire leadership team at Egg Harbor Township School District. He also spent time in early August with numerous other educational leaders in Atlantic and Cape May Counties. These 4- and 2-day workshops respectively have been immensely helpful to Cape Assist’s mission of helping the youth of Cape May County grow.

LSCI is a brain based, trauma informed, relationship-building verbal strategy that helps adults turn problem situations into learning opportunities for young people who exhibit challenging behaviors in schools and communities. LSCI is centered on the core belief that behavioral changes for our most difficult children and youth start with how adults speak to them. LSCI integrates well with schools that are working to become trauma responsive and as schools are moving toward the implementation of restorative practices.

“These workshops perfectly align with our core values of respect and understanding” said Katie Faldetta, Executive Director and CEO of Cape Assist. “Michael’s work has always been about helping our children grow and feel more heard. The skills taught here allow educators to not only work with our youth but build trust with them.”

Where LSCI is focused on respecting youth on a more specialized scale, Trauma Responsive Classroom Leadership and Management is geared towards a larger number of students. The workshop focuses on skills for organizing and speaking to youth on a respectful and understanding level, while ensuring that teachers can effectively lead their students through their education.

Michael McKnight is the Founder of 4 Directions seminars and has worked in the field of behavioral therapy and special education for more than 40 years. He has been developing these workshops throughout his career working in schools as a specialist.

“Cape Assist was able to sponsor and support the creation of School Resiliency Teams in our local school and together with Lori Desautels from Butler University in Indiana, we were able to train over 1,000 educators and student support personnel over those years, free of charge to the participants,” said McKnight. “Educating our communities on these important topics and practices – especially with the support of nonprofits such as Cape Assist, it’s such an asset to helping our communities grow.”

Presentations and workshops like these are being held regularly by Cape Assist to promote their beliefs in the power of learning patience and compassion. For more information about Cape Assist and workshops like these visit https://www.capeassist.org/.