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There is national consensus on the youth mental health crisis. In October the American Academy of Pediatrics, AACP and CHA d eclared a national youth mental crisis followed by the US Surgeon General issuing a n advisory to respond to this public health emergency. Partnering with schools is key to any scalable solution to address the youth mental health crisis. Authors of th e recently rel eased guide, School Mental Health 101: A Primer for Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans and school mental health...

This truly is a special time for many of us, but let's also acknowledge that this is a very busy, stressful, and sometimes overwhelming time. This blog post imagines a new kind of holiday tradition, grounded in all the kinds of things that help us in stressful times. We also share newly available resources and exciting news about what's to come in the new year, including a grant-funded project to help lower stress levels in schools!

By Anne Vasquez, Photo: Allison Shelley/All4Ed, EdSource, December 13, 2021 After 18 months of distance learning, I took a breath before the start of this school year. What would the new normal look like? I feel like I’m still holding my breath, waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop that comes in the form of an end-of-semester report card. As the mother of a newly minted middle school student and a high school junior, I knew this year would test my personal code of ethics about grades:...

As many of our nation’s young people returned to school campuses to reconnect with teachers, coaches, and classmates this fall we rejoiced in their voices and comradery from the bus stops, classrooms, and playgrounds. These sounds take on a greater meaning as we reflect on the significant learning and relational losses that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on students globally. With the recent declaration from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent...

This is an urgent all call to those of us who believe in trauma-informed and healing-centered schools that support the whole person. After reading the recent NBC article “Parents protesting 'critical race theory' identify another target: mental health programs , ” I quickly put aside the blog I had been working on because I knew this was too important. Concerns from colleagues about the rising backlash against increased priorities of mental health and social-emotional learning (SEL) have...

Please join us for December installment of Education Upended: Talking Out of Turn . This monthly series features a conversation facilitated by Lara Kain, PACEsConnection Education Consultant , with special guests on education related current events and hot topics. We will use a trauma-informed and PACEs science aware lens to examine what is going on K-12 education, what needs changing, and strategies being used in the field to disrupt harmful policies and make positive changes in the system.

By Alli Lindenberg, EducationNC, November 29, 2021 I want you to take a moment and check in with your body. How are you feeling? What do you notice? These are the questions that Elijah Sellers and Gabby Taylor want you to ask yourself. In their new podcast, The Resilience Zone, these two students take listeners on a journey of finding resilience through accessible trauma-informed tools. “Sometimes we have to go through heavy hitters, right? And we have to put our minds and our brains under...

Being Trauma-Informed means that we are Culturally Attuned. Heal Trauma Global is a sister company to Heal Historical Trauma and was cultivated to fill a wide gap in stress science & trauma training. The trauma-informed movement is beautiful! It's wonderful that as a society we are moving in a direction that honors an individual's past as part of the driving force behind current behaviors. Yet, time and time again, I have attended trainings that are labeled as Trauma-Informed only to...

LEVEL 2 HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION MARCH 2022!!! The wait is finally over! Iya Affo and Heal Historical Trauma will present: Historical Trauma Specialist Certification- LEVEL 2: A Neurological, Environmental & Cultural Perspective on March 1st & 2nd 2022. LEVEL 2 will cover the following: Neurological implications of Historical Trauma and how to align neurobiology with desired behavioral outcomes. Indigenous Attachment Theory Understanding the injurious relationship...

For the past six months, I have been working with Jeff Ikler, a professional podcaster, and Dr. Chris Mason, executive director of the Center for Educational Improvement, to find ways to encourage schools to create trauma-informed practices to meet the unmet needs of their staff and students. We are pleased to announce that our series on alleviating student trauma is officially launched. You can access the available episodes on an ongoing basis — including your own! — at Trauma in Schools .

By Carolyn Jones, EdSource, November 8, 2021 A mid calls for schools to diversify their teaching staffs, some are saying those efforts should extend beyond the classroom — to the counseling office. The needs of Black students, advocates argue, are too often overlooked by non-Black middle and high school counselors. Black students are more likely to be placed in classes that don’t prepare them for college or a career, subject to harsher discipline and less likely to have their mental health...

By Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post, November 14, 2021 According to GOP politicians and right-wing media, a battle is raging between American parents and schools trying to impose mask requirements and other protections against covid-19. And mainstream cable news outlets suggest that shouting matches are breaking out all over the country and that school closures contributed to Democrats’ travails in this month’s elections in New Jersey and Virginia . In the real world, however, there may...