The Peru Gazette

Tom Murphy is the Director of Sweethearts & Heroes

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. –– The 2023-2024 school year is near, so 30 administrators from the North Country of New York returned to the classroom for two days last week, eager to start their new year as leaders filled with HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist).

On Aug. 2 and Aug. 3, Sweethearts & Heroes held a North Country Training For Administrators at Champlain Valley Educational Services (CVES) in Plattsburgh. Sweethearts & Heroes is a student empowerment and empathy activation team that aims to prevent bullying and suicide, focusing on the basic components of social-emotional learning (SEL).

Sweethearts & Heroes worked with thousands of students and hundreds of educators throughout the Clinton-Essex-Warren Washington BOCES during 2022-2023 school year.  On July 19 and 20, more than 30 district educators attended a Sweethearts & Heroes training at CVES.

Sweethearts & Heroes offers a profound, engaging signature presentation that calls for HOPE, Empathy and Action; Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle to build empathy; and BRAVES Buddies, which trains older students in bully drills that they, in turn, teach to students in lower grades.

Last week’s two-day workshops, which supported the district’s existing SEL curriculum, focused on Sweethearts & Heroes’ 13 tenets of Affective Leadership, using Sweethearts & Heroes’ first novel, 13 Pillows For Affective Educators, as the foundation. Administrators learned strategies to support their educators, students and school community.

Sweethearts & Heroes teammates Tom Murphy (Director), Heather Gottlob (Affective Educator) and Pat Fish (Circle/BRAVES Leader) led the seminars at CVES, which was an important partner. The Foundation of Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) provided grants and scholarships that allowed administrators to attend for free.

“We wanted these administrators to take the 13 pillows, or lessons, from our novel and apply them to their staff during this coming school year,” Murphy said. “We understand that our teachers need as much support as our students, and we worked with these administrators so that they could be more engaged in creating educators that are student-focused. It’s hard for teachers to remain student-focused when there are school culture and climate challenges. However, when you have an administrator that focuses on their teachers’ and staff’s needs and health, the culture change is incredible.”

Corey Flynn, Morristown Central School Principal, attended the training. He said, “It isn’t often that administrators come together for professional development and walk away with tools essential to improving our buildings and districts; however, that is exactly what happened. This was the perfect launch to the upcoming work we now plan to do with them in our school during the 2023-2024 school year.”

Beekmantown Middle School Principal Duffy Nelson said, “I left the training knowing that the faculty, staff and students at BMS were going to be positively impacted by my attendance. The trainers were engaging and thoughtful in their interactions with the participants. The administrators’ participation and comments drove the direction and topics of the training; it was a student-centered learning environment, which was appreciated.”

Matt Rogers, Director of School Counseling at AuSable Valley Central School, called the training “outstanding.” He said, “The presenters were enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the subject matter. They encouraged group participation, which allowed for some personal one-on-one time with colleagues and brought a sense of intimacy to the training. The material is something we will use right away, because we want to kick off our year on a positive note, so it is pertinent to what my district will do. The time and duration of the workshop was ideal as well. I was able to stay focused and involved at all times.”

For over 16 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented what Murphy calls “‘the ‘stop, drop and roll’ of bullying” to nearly 2.5 million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii and north to Canada. Murphy, Yarosh and Fish also tailor their presentations and workshops for businesses, non-profits and civic groups. Murphy said, “We go where we’re needed. That’s what heroes do.”

13 Pillows For Affective Teachers is based on real students and teachers that Sweethearts & Heroes has encountered. Murphy cowrote the book with Brian McKeon, of New York. 13 Pillows is available on Amazon. Digital or printed copies are available upon request. The audiobook is on Audible. (On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/13Pillows)