“Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are a powerful movement, and collectively we are making a difference,” says Lara Kain, PACEs Connection education consultant. She joins this week’s History. Culture. Trauma. podcast with fellow educators and hosts, PACEs Connection CEO Ingrid Cockhren, and director of communities, Mathew Portell.
Cockhren and Portell are focused on the start of the 2022-2023 school year, and welcome colleague Kain on Thursday, August 25 at 1 p.m. PT, 4 p.m. ET, when Kain will share her take on what can be done to ensure a better year than the last two.
People who’ve attended Kain’s “Education Disrupted” webinar series know to expect forthright comments from Kain as she, Cockhren and Portell discuss topics including affirmation of LGBTQ students, institutional racism, critical race theory, teacher burnout, and parent's rights, which have transformed America's schools into cultural battlegrounds.
An unapologetic advocate for community schools, Kain will likely speak to why community schools are a great model when the objective is minimizing trauma.
“Schools are often the center of our lives, an integral part of a thriving and resilient community. As amplified by the pandemic, our society relies on schools to meet a myriad of basic needs for both students and their families,” says Kain. “Schools have become central in reducing food insecurity, providing access to basic mental health, and health care services, for example.
“But schools cannot do this on their own,” she continues. “They need community partners to achieve this reality. Community schools are a school design framework that I believe has the most promise for achieving equity and creating ecosystems where all children, families, and staff thrive.”
As Kain explains, “Community schools explicitly serve as the ‘hub’ of a community ecosystem. Carefully and purposefully integrating community supports to improve student outcomes (academic, health, and social-emotional) with a ‘whole child’ mindset, they form strategic and aligned partnerships with community organizations to serve the needs of children and families that are part of that school community. They are often open extended hours and on weekends, facilitating access to community services and extended learning opportunities. Community schools empower youth and families through authentic power-sharing as well as placing a high value on youth voice and community wisdom. This integrated focus not only improves student outcomes, it also contributes to building stronger families and healthier communities.”
Kain’s expertise in community schools comes from her work prior to joining PACEs Connection about four years ago.
“In my previous position, I supported the implementation of community schools in Los Angeles. It is a movement near and dear to my heart that align closely with the PACEsConnection values.”
- Local Relevance. We believe people and their communities hold the solutions to prevent, address and heal adverse childhood experiences.
- Equitable Partners. All levels of society in all sectors—individuals, organizations, communities, and systems—are equitable partners, essential to identifying and implementing solutions.
At the root of the need to focus on trauma-informed education comes the lack of equity experienced by students across the United States.
“We need to focus on equity-centered work, the importance of love and joy, the necessity of disruption, the need for solidarity, the importance of our community, a desire for more humanity in the work, the direct call to action, and the intense feeling of urgency,” Kain says.
“There are a lot of champions out there, and sometimes we need to be reminded that we are a powerful movement, and collectively we are making a difference. Lead with love, disrupt the system, and fight like hell,” she adds.
“Students, teachers, and administrators are experiencing poor mental health outcomes, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout,” says Cockhren. Kain will also discuss the recent Trauma Informed School Leadership Institute, now available as a self-paced study, during which she and other leaders in the trauma-informed education movement shared why trauma-informed education is imperative.
An experienced educator and consultant who speaks nationally on implementing trauma-informed practices in schools and building holistic, trauma-responsive systems, Kain brings over two decades of experience at the local, state, and national levels, including developing programs for integrating trauma-informed practices into community schools in Los Angeles.
Kain has also worked for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as the state homeless coordinator and practiced her first love, teaching 'at-risk' youth.
Kain earned bachelor's degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a masters’ in public administration from The Evergreen State College. As an example of her understanding of the micro and the macro, Kain’s experience ranges from supporting individual teachers to designing a trauma-informed schools pilot implemented in 20 schools across the country.
As both a teacher and administrator, Kain has put the science of building resilience into practice. A trauma survivor, Kain was herself an 'at-risk' youth, and brings this perspective to her understanding of “what schools can and should look like to benefit ALL children.”
The mother of two adopted sons, Kain also brings an understanding of the effects of developmental trauma, and what it takes to overcome it.
Tune in Thursday here for Lara Kain, on the History. Culture. Trauma. podcast, or find the podcast on these carriers:
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