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By Tony Weaver, Jr.     Jun 16, 2020 If there’s one thing Americans are doing right now, it’s talking. Talking even more than usual when schools are out and many are still working from home. Every day, new stories of discrimination and violence emerge that prompt new conversations. The moment our country faces weighs heavily on the mind of an adult. But one must wonder: What does it do to the mind of a child? Black students around the country are faced with a reality where they are isolated...

Regulation Before Education: The Roots and Fruits of a Trauma-Informed School July 29-31st | 12:00 - 3:00pm EDT These times are unsettling in many ways. But the disruptions have widened opportunities for different ways of being, thinking and doing in education. The trauma-informed schools movement has never been more relevant. Schools committed to cultivating trauma-informed change can successfully buffer the adverse effects of the pandemic, economic collapse, and persistent racial...

School nurses have been industrious during COVID-19, using innovative skills to do one of the things we do best, providing information for our families. Everyone's health literacy has been tested through the pandemic. The messaging from our most trusted institutions like the CDC has been confusing and ever-changing. As states have released vague return to school guidelines, it is clear that the details for keeping our students and staff safe will depend on each school district to create...

By Melanie Blow, The Buffalo News, June 27, 2020 If New York State plans to, as Cuomo put it, “reimagine schools,” we should first reacquaint ourselves with their role outside of education. Many teachers perform a Sisyphean task of undoing the effects of the childhood trauma that two-thirds of children suffer at home. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrated that 10 childhood traumas change the way a young body and mind...

Next Episode of A Better Normal-Education Upended July 9th, 2020- 12 PST ACEsConnection is on holiday July 2nd but please join us on July 9th as we host special guest Pamela Black to discuss a back to school survey that aims to gather information from staff regarding what they need to feel safe in their return to school. If you want to catch up on past Better Normal-Education Upended over the holiday weekend we have our own YouTube channel ! Have a safe holiday and see you July 9th! Weekly...

By Christopher Edley, JR. and Maria Echaveste, EdSource, June 25, 2020 Weeks of racial justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic have together drawn much-needed attention to the race-based disparities embedded in our institutions, from policing to health care. These disparities are also deeply rooted in our communities and schools. During these prolonged school disruptions, Black, Latinx and low-income students have been disproportionately affected. As we learned in real-time, these...

Becoming Trauma Informed is about changing ourselves and the environment to foster trauma resilience in those we come in contact with. If schools are using Social Emotional Learning curriculum (SEL) only as an add-on program to implement, then it isn’t about the teachers and environment changing, it is merely about changing the behavior of students. If we are solely trying to change others to make them conform to pre-set standards, it is continuing the oppressive cycle. Command and control...

By George Farmer, Education Next, June 23, 2020 As the world has paused to analyze the deficiencies of police departments, it is not enough. All aspects of America have to examine areas of systemic injustice. That includes schools, which now have an opportunity to rise to the occasion and improve. American schools are de facto segregated based on income and ethnicity. Where students live determines the quality of education students will receive. Black and Latinx communities receive less...

Hi everyone! We'd like to introduce our new ACEs Connection Anti-Racism Resources List c ulled from resources shared by Learn4Life, Prevention Institute., Rise Magazine , V A TICN , Vital Village , 10% Happier . and our own ACEs Connection members and staff . You can access them from this widget on the top right side of our home page or by clicking here. The list has the following categories of resources: Racial Trauma, Historical Trauma, & Healing Police Brutality & Reform...

As schools and districts across the nation look to reopen, whether in-person or virtually, in the coming months, they are likely to face even greater strain as they seek to meet the academic and health needs of students, staff, and educators with already limited resources. To assist schools in proactively addressing the health needs of educators and staff, a number of nationally recognized and trusted school health organizations have come together to develop a playbook for school reopening —...

By Rae Jacobson, The Child Mind Institute, June 23, 2020 It’s a trying time to be the parent of a teenager. After months of being cooped up at home away from friends, unable to attend school or go out, most kids are chomping at the bit to get back to the lives they had before the pandemic. Getting teens to take safety seriously is a struggle at the best of times, and as the nation moves towards reopening, it’s never been more important to ensure kids are following the rules. How can parents...

"Woke" language is not a substitute for the deep work anti-racism requires By Jamilah Pitts June 16, 2020 Educators have to move beyond the buzzwords and trends circulating today if we are seeking to truly transform schools. The terms “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” simply are not enough. And I fear now that the radicalism tied to anti-racist work is being watered down. Educational trendy buzzwords pave a destructive road for the commodification of otherwise transformative action.