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Toxic stress occurs in children when they experience prolonged episodes of physical or emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness or economic hardship without adult support. This affects children in ways far more detrimental than typical stress. It makes children more likely to develop problems such as heart disease, stroke, asthma, obesity and diabetes later in life. Several organizations received a $1.1 million Bethesda Inc. grant to team up with pediatric...

Remember middle school? Remember how everything could be mortifying, especially if you didn't have the right brand of jeans or that certain kind of backpack or the expensive boat shoes everyone else (yes, everyone, Mom!) has? Now imagine middle school if you not only couldn't afford those brands, but you couldn't even find a way to clean the clothes you do have. The prospect might just be mortifying enough to make you skip class altogether. Now, two school districts have found that the...

How childhood stress can impact mental health in adulthood by Jill Burke, Alaska Dispatch News Extreme stress and young brains are a bad combination, something that sets in motion feelings and behaviors that can haunt us long into adulthood. And just in time for the school year, a new study may help explain why. The Duke University study used neuro-imaging to look at the biological effect of childhood stress on the adult brain. It's important research, because it parallels existing knowledge...

I am posting this article in Aces in Education because of the emphasis on addressing ACEs through interconnected community services. Education is one of the six areas of focus. The film series starts on August 18th in Richmond Virginia. If I lived closer, I'd love to go to this. Are there any ACEs in Education members in Richmond? If so, can you contact me about your ability to go to this? I'd love to know more! Leisa Irwin It takes communities to achieve justice By Adrienne Cole Johnson,...

When music artist Kehlani posted photos of herself after her suicide attempt on Instagram , she was bombarded with backlash on the post itself as well as on Twitter and other social media outlets. Some users, mainly those of her primarily black fan base, called her “selfish” and an “attention-seeker.” Singer Chris Brown tweeted that “there is no attempting suicide. Stop flexing for the gram.” This aggression is the result of a stigmatized, biased understanding of mental health in the black...

This school in New South Wales, Australia is building resilience, emotional wellness, and stress management skills starting in Kindergarten and continuing through grade 12! Moama Anglican Grammar School The Weekly Times August 14, 2016 9:00am “AT MOAMA Anglican Grammar we recognise the importance of the connection between mental health and learning,” said Libby Barnes, head of pastoral care at the young co-educational school. The school, on the Murray River north of Echuca, strives to help...

Effective education 'reform' is student-centered

Two school districts have found that the secret to raising attendance rates in schools in low-income areas could be as simple as providing laundry machines. "One of my students had just sort of withdrawn from school completely," Alison Guernsey, a seventh grade English teacher in Fairfield, California, told TODAY Parents. "After we started the program, he was more excited about coming, and he started to be actively engaged in class. He didn't feel like an outsider anymore," she said. At...

Developmental trauma changes the architecture of the physical brain, ability to learn and social behavior. It impacts two out of three children, but I didn’t even know what it was…

New Orleans: As recently as a decade ago, the Youth Study Center would have been unlikely to attract an educational pioneer to their juvenile detention facility. The roughly 40 teenagers held in the flood-damaged center rarely made it to class because they were often on lockdown 23 hours a day. The staff had a reputation for incompetence. The building itself was plagued with bugs and mold. But this summer, the Orleans Parish School Board signed over operations of the school to the national...

Can these middle school students catch up in time? It is almost impossible to tell that Lamontae Smith and Justin Dutton, sitting side by side at summer school, both failed sixth-grade math this year. “I have a 95 average,” said Justin, grinning and lifting his head up During the school year, neither boy had been able to maintain an average above 60.momentarily from a quiz on fractions. “I have a 97 average,” responded Lamontae, with a hint of competitive pride. “If I get a 100 on this, I’m...

San Diego Unified School District board members voted unanimously Tuesday night (July 26, 2016) in favor of a plan to address Islamophobia and bullying of Muslim students. More than 200 members and supporters of the city’s Muslim community erupted into applause after the vote. “You guys are essentially the reason why this district is one of the safest in the nation,” said Hanif Mohebi, executive director of the San Diego chamber of the Council on American-Islamic Relations . Mohebi also told...