Blog

David B. Cohen, a veteran English teacher at Palo Alto High and columnist for Education Week, spent a year crisscrossing California observing some of the state’s best teachers. The result was Capturing the Spark: Inspired Teachers, Thriving Schools, an insightful look at talented teachers, effective practices and promising schools, from Arcata to El Centro. Some interviewees were California Teachers of the Year or, like Cohen, have their national board certification, a distinguished...

Kevin Beiser acknowledged what brought hundreds of parents, teachers and students Wednesday evening to a dusty ball field in Old Town — the fear of “what it would be like in Nazi Germany.” But school board member Beiser promised the San Diego Unified School District would “push back” against enablers of hate. Trustee Richard Barrera noted a 950-word school board resolution approved last week “reaffirming values of peace, tolerance and respect for multiple perspectives.” (see attached)...

In California and across the country, suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens—a grim reminder that many high school students’ primary barrier to adulthood is themselves. More young people take their own lives than the number killed by cancer, heart disease, birth defects, stroke, flu, pneumonia and chronic lung disease combined. And under legislation set to take effect in January, school systems up and down the state will be forced to confront the taboo topic head-on.

The Somerset Independent School District posted a video of the gift-giving on Facebook, where it had been viewed more than 5 million times by Wednesday, and shared more than 90,000 times. The district is located in Somerset, Tex., which is about 20 miles from San Antonio. "When I watch that video, I feel a sense of pride," said Somerset Mayor Lydia Hernandez, who also works at the school. "Not only to be proud to work at the school district and know that our students are so amazing and so...

Three decades ago, a team of researchers at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Diego asked thousands of patients about traumatic events from their childhood. The responses were collected and analyzed against health records for a study known as the Adverse Childhood Experiences study or ACEs, a landmark study in the field of trauma research. The researchers found a strong correlation between the ten adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) - which include physical and sexual abuse, losing a...

PSAs designed to help grow awareness of the impacts of developmental or 'childhood' trauma. All the narratives are about real kids (with pseudonyms) who are trauma-impacted. These are not "combined" or imaginary narratives, nor caricatures.

A school in San Diego uses a “facility dog” to offer children a kind of healing that humans sometimes cannot provide. It used to take Mary Skrabucha five minutes to walk across the campus of The O’Farrell Charter School in San Diego. Now it takes her twenty, because with Sejera — a golden retriever  — by her side, kids and teachers are constantly stopping to say hello. Sejera isn’t your average friendly retriever. She’s a trained “facility dog” who works with Skrabucha in Family Support...

Connect with challenging youth by Dr. Larry Brendtro I have been very fortunate to have connected with some excellent mentors over the years and Dr. Brendtro is one of my all time favorites. If you work with kids that are challenging you need to know the work of Dr. Brendtro!! Although he is no longer affiliated with Reclaiming Youth International... do check out the work : by Brendtro, Brokenleg, Van Bockern., Reclaiming Youth At Risk; Our Hope for the future. Here is a sample of some of...

The Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative has made this excellent 11 minute video available for sharing widely. All children need safe and supportive environments in order to learn. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study demonstrates that nearly every school has students who have been exposed to overwhelming experiences, such as witnessing violence at home, being direct targets of abuse, homelessness or having a parent with substance abuse or mental health issues. Trauma-sensitive...

Los Angeles schools shouldn't only be places where students go to learn; they should also be community centers , after-school gathering spots and hubs for social services. That principle is better known nationally as the "community schools" model — and it's about to get the endorsement of a newly-formed, powerhouse coalition of labor unions, faith-based groups and social justice organizations who see it as a new organizing principle for the Los Angeles Unified School District. The coalition,...

The first anti-bullying project took place more than 30 years ago in Scandinavia. Since then, projects have cropped up around the world, mostly taking a similar overall approach: raising awareness of bullying and getting students to engage in activities that highlight its negative effects. By 2004, enough anti-bullying projects had been introduced in enough places to review their overall impact, including some meta-analyses of their results. Unfortunately, the evidence about their success...

Applications for the 2017 Trauma Learning Communities are due by 5:00 PM EST on December 23, 2016: 2017 Trauma-Sensitive School Learning Community for schools and districts 2017 National Trauma-Informed Care Learning Community for behavioral health, social service, community and large system organizations. By joining one of these learning communities you will connect with trauma experts and other organizations through a series of coaching calls and webinars, two in-person summits, access to...