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As we look towards the reopening of in-person instruction in the fall, planning and reimagining for a restorative restart to our school systems that emphasizes student and educator mental health is a priority. In addition, there is a windfall of one-time funding coming to districts from federal and local funds for just this purpose. Recently a wise educator said to me, ‘you know, if you want to get to the hearts and minds of school leaders to make changes for the fall you need to do so by...

By Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times, June 4, 2021 At a time when many school officials thought the best way to deal with problematic students was to suspend or expel them, Susan F. Cole realized what may seem obvious now: Sometimes, trouble at school meant trauma at home. Beginning in the 1990s, she became a leading voice in the movement to create “trauma-sensitive schools” in her own state, Massachusetts, and elsewhere, ones where the staff understands that abuse, neglect, hunger and...

How to reopen schools in Fall 2021 optimally

This latest issue brief from Penn State’s Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center looks at how schoolwide social and emotional learning (SEL) and trauma-sensitive schools (TSS) can support a holistic approach to meeting student needs, particularly when focused on enhancing individual skill-building and environmental conditions that support student well-being and advance educational equity. The co-authors examine the ways in which TSS and SEL can be integrated and expanded— through...

16 Strong Project is excited to be recruiting for our second Youth Advocacy Board! Our goal is to involve youth in our program and resource development as well as provide guidance to this group to be leaders and advocates around ACEs in their own schools and communities. We are looking for a group of creative, resourceful, hard-working high school (grades 9-12) students to join our Youth Advocacy Board who are: Interested in mental health education and awareness-building Dedicated to making...

Now is the time to submit proposals for the workshops at the 5th annual Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference hosted by the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN)! This year's conference will be an asynchronous hybrid - with an in-person conference Feb 20-22, 2022 in Houston, TX and a virtual component on Feb 24 & 25. We're expecting 2000 educators from across the country and around the world to attend this conference, which will include 4 exciting keynotes, pre-conference "deep...

Please find Linda K. Williams website, Caring and Capable Kids, with many resources for you and your families. Please click HERE: https://caringandcapablekids.com/caring-and-capable-kids/

Registration is now open for two summer sessions of this professional development course for educators! Designed to bridge the gap from knowing about trauma to being able to fully implement a trauma-informed approach in the classroom, this course will explore the key principles of a trauma-informed approach, and how they can be applied in an school setting to achieve equitable and just outcomes.

HERE this NOW founder, Emily Read Daniels was thrilled when Jane Stevens agreed to have PACES Connection endorse and sponsor HTN's 3rd Annual Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference. The conference will address the application of The Polyvagal Theory (science behind how we process trauma in our bodies) in schools for the safe return to in-person learning. The virtual conference, June 1-4, 2021, will host teachers, school administrators, and school specialists from across the U.S. and...

From Education Week, May 25, 2021 The progression from kindergarten to high school graduation is intended to be a smooth trajectory for most children. Teaching is carefully calibrated so each year builds on the last and educators work hard to help students over inevitable humps, like moving to middle school. But what happens when schooling is disrupted, as it was for most students during the pandemic this past year? Students are returning to school now after enduring trauma, stress, and...

Registration for the June Rise to Resilience workshop Unlearning Ableism for Educators is now available! In this workshop, we will dive into what ableism is, how it manifests within classrooms and the education system, and identify ways to challenge ableism in our practices. Register here: www.bit.ly/risejune You can watch past workshop recordings by clicking here and learn more about Rise to Resilience on the website www.risetoresilience.org. Image Description: A light pink background with...

Written by: Catherine Dennis M.S., Ed.S | Early Childhood Specialist Trauma informed practice, ACES and resilience have been the focus of educators the last few years. The idea that trauma was something that happened in the early years and understanding that impact on learning in the long term. But the pause of this past year for all children has delivered another layer to this ever-evolving topic. Now, it doesn't really matter what the situation was at home, collectively, trauma was...