In this article, the author makes the case that school organizations need to adopt a universal precaution approach for addressing trauma, and the systemic changes required to do so. With this approach, every adult has the potential for a positive impact on each child in his or her care. (The entire PDF document is attached and can be downloaded.)
I have written an adult book titled (sadly but aptly): Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door: Strategies and Solutions for Educators, PreK-12. It is available at Teachers College Press and Amazon as an ebook and paperback. What I have now created, by popular demand, is a set of items that animate the trauma responsive suggestions within the book. There are many concrete suggestions already within the book that are transportable to a reader's home institution and adjusted for culture and...
In less than a month, school is supposed to start. The starting date has been pushed back until after Labor Day by our governor. This week, the state school board will vote on whether or not to uphold the governor's decision.(Why that's even a thing, I have no idea) With all of the uncertainty created by Covid, this will look different all across the United States, actually even district by district. Right now, it is really difficult to be a teacher. I have had to step away from reading...
Great strategies! I am really happy with the information, techniques, and discussion from today's webinar. Thank you! Rated 5 out of 5 - Assistant Principal, Lancaster School District, California DMind is just as powerful for school staff as it is for students. Thank you for another wonderful discussion. Rated 5 out of 5 - School Counselor, Houston This is just a sample of the reviews from Niroga Institute’s recent free webinar Prevent Teacher Burnout. It's not too late to learn, practice...
Remote learning will likely play a role in students’ lives once schools reopen. Here’s how teachers and parents can help kids manage stress, build resilience, and stay connected. By Sarah Gonser July 7, 2020 As the pandemic grinds on and protests against police brutality and systemic racism continue, young people are coping with high levels of stress and uncertainty, writes Dr. Pamela Cantor in “ The Stress of This Moment Might Be Hurting Kids’ Development ” for Education Next. With the...
By Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, July 16, 2020 Last week, President Trump declared that public schools must fully reopen in the fall, threatening to withhold federal funding if they fail to do so. But neither he nor the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has offered guidance on how schools can safely resume classroom teaching during the coronavirus pandemic . Meanwhile, some of the largest school districts in the country, including Los Angeles and San Diego, have announced that they will...
By Ailsa Chang and Jonaki Mehta, National Public Radio, July 10, 2020 Across the country, students of color have been demanding change from their schools. At one Denver school, the push for a more inclusive and diverse curriculum came last year, from a group of African American high school students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College. Black students at the joint middle school and high school say they didn't see their history and culture reflected in the curriculum at a school that's...
Please join us this Friday, July 17th as we speak with @Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz for our next A Better Normal discussion at 3p.m. EST. This conversation, hosted by @Cissy White (ACEs Connection Staff) and moderated by @Alison Cebulla (ACEs Connection Staff) will be about building community, ending poverty, and and parenting with ACEs. Rebecca will share her personal story as well as her work with families, schools, and communities. Click here to register. About Rebecca's Lewis-Pankratz (in her...
By Caprice Young, Ed Source, July 13, 2020 Before you can reach a student’s head to learn, you have to reach their heart and earn their trust. Educators should strive to be that support, especially during this pandemic and amid the civil unrest we are experiencing. It’s likely that the trauma some students were experiencing before the pandemic struck may be escalating as a result of being forced to shelter at home. When school starts up again in the fall and on-site instruction resumes (even...
By John Bailey, Education Next, July 2020 A consensus is growing among health officials that American schools, virtually all of which closed their doors this March, will be able to reopen in the fall. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in early June that “the idea of keeping schools closed in the fall because of safety concerns for children might be ‘a bit of a reach.’” That’s good news: the sooner kids get back to school, the...
UPCOMING WEBINAR | Planning for the Next Normal at School: Key starter plays for prioritizing health when schools reopen To assist school and district leaders with specific, evidence-informed guidance and operating procedures for keeping school communities healthy during school reopenings, a number of nationally recognized and trusted school health organizations have come together to develop a playbook for school reopening — “Planning for the Next Normal at School: Keeping students, staff,...
Ambiguity. Nuance. Gray. We are living in this every day now. How do we support one another as we come back together in our schools and communities? Giving Grace in the Gray.
Please join us tomorrow, Thursday July 16th as Emily Read Daniels and myself facilitate a discussion around the return to school specifically the anxiety and stress we are feeling/hearing/seeing. Emily will share a bit about regulation, we want to hear what is going on with you, and we will do a breakout session to discuss in small groups. Weekly themes include: How do we create physical and psychological safety, especially in the face of so much uncertainty? What strategies can we use to...
Vic Goddard is one of many school leaders daunted by the burden of supporting pupils and staff through their grief. By Donna Ferguson, July 4, 2020 V ic Goddard is trying not to cry. The headteacher of Passmores academy in Harlow and star of the 2011 TV series Educating Essex is thinking about the 23 pupils and two staff at his school who have been bereaved during the coronavirus pandemic. His greatest fear, a fear that keeps him awake at night and is making his voice tremble, is what could...
I am teaching at three hour affordable Zoom course at Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work on how to create trauma response schools, organizations and businesses. It is July 31 and it is easy to enroll and you get a discount code for my new book (which ties in) titled: Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door (just released from Teachers College Press, June 2020). Here's a link to the course: https://ssw-web.rutgers.edu/ssw/ce/index.php?m=catalog&f=4 I cannot think of a time in which we...