In today’s complex school environments, connection and well-being are among the most powerful drivers of social-emotional, behavioral, and mental health and school success. This session explores how Advocacy Centers operationalize this understanding by aligning people, proven practices, and early intervention to ensure no student falls through the cracks. Framed as a “compass” for effective preventative and responsive supports that produce meaningful outcomes, the model integrates trauma-informed and restorative practices with an emphasis on well-being within a cohesive, high-impact approach to whole-school transformation. Drawing on five years of district-wide implementation and continuous improvement across 74 Metro Nashville Public Schools, participants will learn how dedicated Advocacy Coaches, structured support processes, and data-driven practices create conditions for student flourishing and staff support. The session highlights how structured coaching models, professional learning, feedback loops, collaborative problem-solving, and comprehensive supports move schools beyond reactive practices to proactive systems that strengthen belonging, engagement, skill building and classroom success. Through real examples, interactive dialogue and a roundtable discussion, attendees will explore how to map and adapt this scalable framework in their own contexts. Participants will leave with practical tools and actionable strategies to implement and sustain structured systems for support staff and Certified Wellness Coaches to apply—translating connection and intervention into measurable outcomes for students and educators alike while ensuring every student is known, supported, and set up to thrive.
District Coordinator of Trauma-Informed Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools
Dr. Mary Crnobori is the District Coordinator of Trauma-Informed Schools for Metro Nashville Public Schools. She leads a team of 7 district Trauma-Informed Specialists and oversees 72 fully staffed elementary school Advocacy Centers, or designated regulation spaces designed to support... Read More →
Audit Preparedness:Guidance on compliance requirements and strategies to ensure audit readiness.
Navigating Medical Necessity: Recommendations for establishing and documenting medical necessity within school-based settings.
ORP Responsibilities: Practical guidance on Ordering, Referring, and Prescribing (ORP) requirements.
Rural & Universal Toolkits: New resources designed to address rural implementation challenges while offering blueprints that can support all districts statewide.
This session uses the familiar world of Gilligan’s Island to explore what happens to adults during and after traumatic events in school communities. While much of the conversation around trauma focuses on helping students, this presentation looks at the emotional weight carried by educators, counselors, administrators, first responders, and trusted adults who continue showing up for others while often ignoring what they themselves are carrying.
Using the characters from Gilligan’s Island as a relatable framework, participants explore the roles adults naturally assume during crisis and recovery. Some become “The Skipper,” trying to hold everything together. Some become “Gilligan,” overwhelmed but still trying their best. Some become “The Professor,” relying on logic and problem-solving, while others use humor, avoidance, caretaking, silence, or overwork to cope. These roles create honest conversation while helping participants recognize themselves and others in a memorable and non-threatening way.
Through storytelling, lived experience, humor, vulnerability, and guided reflection, the session builds toward the “5 Things We Carry” exercise. This experience allows participants to reflect on the emotions, responsibilities, grief, and invisible burdens they continue carrying from trauma and caring for others. Rather than focusing on theory or scripted responses, the presentation centers on what actually helps people feel seen, supported, and connected after crisis.
Participants leave with practical tools, emotional insight, and a renewed understanding of how trusted adult culture can influence healing across an entire school community. The goal is not just to teach trauma response, but to help the adults in the room feel a little less alone carrying it.
