Understanding How They Learn: Executive Function, Neurodiversity, and Building Independence

Hosted by Forman School, Bermuda School for Girls, and The Reading Clinic

• Wednesday, October 28th, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

• Bermuda High School for Girls, 19 Richmond Road, Hamilton, Bermuda
  
  

About the Session

Executive function (EF) shapes nearly everything students—and adults—do each day: how we start tasks, manage our time, regulate our emotions, and recover from setbacks. These complex skills are often taken for granted when they are working well and misunderstood when they are still being developed, which is the case for all K–12 learners.

Join us to explore what current research actually tells us about supporting all kinds of learners, particularly middle and high school students, through the opportunities and challenges of developing EF skills in context. We’ll share our whole-school approach to EF coaching at Forman School, discuss how students’ neurodiversity informs our approach, and invite attendees to identify next steps for their own environments. You will leave with actionable insights to support your students and help everyone in your school community develop a shared understanding and approach to building independence in all learners.

Presented by:

• Dr. Kristin Simmers, Forman School’s Director of Cognition and Learning

• Jenai Fitzpatrick, Forman School’s Co-Director of Studies for Curriculum, Cognition and Learning Science
  

The admission fee is $5 (payable at the door). PD certificates will be available. Please complete one registration per attendee. 

Register here. 

Designing a Culture of Accountability and Care

Presented by Head of School Amy Clemons, Associate Head of School Allie Maxwell, and Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School Teacher Erin McLaughlin

• November 4th, 1:30 p.m.

• JW Marriott in Washington, D.C.

About the Session

This session brings together educators from two boarding school communities to examine how clear expectations, relational trust, and strengths-based practices can support both neurodivergent and neurotypical learners. Grounded in real case studies and lived experience, this highly interactive session explores how schools can move beyond punitive or overly permissive systems to build cultures rooted in belonging, responsibility, and resilience. Through collaborative problem-solving and practical tool-building, participants leave with adaptable strategies for creating accountable, affirming, and empowering school communities.

Executive Function in Action: Translating Research into Strategic, Independent Learning

Presented by Director of Cognition and Learning Dr. Kristin Simmers

• November 12th-14th

• Hyatt Grand Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada

About the Session

Executive function plays a critical role in how students access instruction, apply what they know, and become increasingly independent learners. This advanced certificate session examines executive function through the lens of dyslexia and complex learning profiles, connecting current research with explicit, practical instructional approaches. Participants will explore how working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, planning, organization, self-monitoring, and emotional and behavioral regulation interact with reading and learning, particularly for students with dyslexia and co-occurring language-based learning differences.

Moving beyond traditional study-skills approaches, the session will demonstrate how educators can explicitly teach executive function, use intentional teacher language to support metacognition, and embed EF supports within structured literacy and other academic instruction. Classroom examples will illustrate how teachers can help students plan, monitor, reflect, and flexibly apply strategies while gradually shifting responsibility from the educator to the learner.

Participants will leave with an evidence-informed framework and practical strategies for creating learning environments that support student agency, strategic thinking, and meaningful independence.