Professional Development Offerings:
Free for adults working adjacent to or directly with young people. Come learn with us!
Investing in Youth-Adult Partnerships:
This foundational content is highly interactive and focused on research-based strategies for fostering developmental relationships with young people. Deepen your understanding of youth culture. Explore new engagement strategies and activities. Practice implementing youth-adult partnerships in your work.
Register for this five hour session with limited in-person spaces on May 12th in Bangor or May 19th in Augusta – or join us for a modified virtual session on May 24th.
Group Facilitation with Youth:
This session is focused on leveraging expertise in the room grounded by research-based best practices. Content is highly interactive and includes ample time for practice & debrief in small groups. Grow your facilitation practice and leave with new tools to use in your work!
Register for this five hour session with limited in-person spaces on May 10th in Bangor or May 17th in South Portland – or join us for a modified virtual session on May 26th.
Stay tuned for exciting opportunities for youth training! Updates coming April 11th.
For inquiries about individually tailored programming opportunities or support for your school, organization, or youth group, be in touch:
Past Training Courses From the Maine Youth Action Network
SUPPORTING SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS
Uprooting Inequities: Using Dialogue to Build Community
Some young people, especially those with marginalized identities, experience inequalities at school and in broader educational environments at a greater rate. In this workshop, we’ll dig deep into dialogue about the inequities experienced by young people, identify their root causes, and explore how models of restorative practice can help school communities uproot those inequities.
Beyond the Book Club: Building and Sustaining Anti-Racist Work
Engaging with anti-racism learning provides the foundation and skills for holding conversations, navigating change, sustaining the work of anti-racism beyond this session, and supporting young people.
COMMUNITY-BASED ACTION
Community Driven Research with Youth
National conversations about civic engagement, activism, and organizing efforts captured our attention this fall. Young people’s energy, passion, and creative thinking are often key drivers in these movements. Join us to learn more about partnering with local youth leaders using a community-driven research model to explore persistent challenges facing our communities. This workshop will focus on the importance of youth experiences and expertise in research and offer strategies for co-leading local projects to affect positive change.
Practicing with a Restorative Lens
Are you interested in how to apply the principles of restorative practices to your everyday interactions with young people here in Maine? This training will introduce you to some of the basics of restorative practices that you can start using in your classroom, program, sports team, or wherever you’re working with young people.
POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Neuroscience, SEL, and Racial Equity
In this training, we’ll examine the neuroscience behind social and emotional learning, and how we can leverage SEL concepts to promote equity. A racial equity lens to this work is essential to cultivating positive outcomes for all young people, especially those who are marginalized.
Fostering Strong Relationships with Young People
These are stressful and uncertain times for all of us. Many of us are worried about how young people are being disparately and negatively impacted, and we want to do something to help. Join us to reflect on the power of strong, authentic relationships as tools for building resiliency, buffering against harm, and finding joy together. Rediscover your strengths as a mentor and share expertise with your peers in this 90-minute session.
Play to Learn: Gamifying Learning Experiences
The sudden shift to online learning spaces this year has led many of us to rethink what educational spaces can look like. In this experiential training, we’ll explore using creative educational tools inspired by games to help us build engaging virtual programming. Together, we’ll “play to learn,” and talk about how to take our lesson plans to the next level.
Youth-Driven Programming
Creating programming is a difficult process, especially programming designed to be driven or led by young people. We’ll explore ways to center youth voice and agency in program design and discuss how to build the youth-adult partnerships vital to making youth-driven programs successful. In this workshop, We’ll cover how to start planning and designing your own dynamic programming that puts young people firmly at the center.
Have questions about our training series, or are interested in learning more about a youth engagement or health topic not covered above? Send us an email at myan@opportunityalliance.org or join our email network to stay up to date with our latest training and professional development opportunities!
