Tagged With "Professional Development"
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Resource List - Research & Reports
Reports and research about how ACEs affect schoolchildren, or about how schools become trauma-informed, or the outcomes of integrating trauma-informed and resilience-building practices in schools. If you recommend any others besides those listed here, please leave a comment with a link and/or information.
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Resource List - Tutorials (Online)
Online tutorials about adverse childhood experience, neurobiology of toxic stress and how children's learning is affected by trauma. If you recommend any others besides those listed here, please leave a comment in this blog post with a link and/or information.
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Rural Oregon County Integrates ACEs Screening in School-Based Trauma-Informed Health Centers
For the last two years, nearly all students referred for mental health services in seven school-based health centers in Deschutes County, OR, have taken the 10-question adverse childhood experiences (ACE) survey.
It didn’t take long to realize why this was good idea.
“The average ACE score for a student being seen by a Deschutes County clinician was 5 out of 10,” says Elizabeth Fitzgerald, supervisor of school-based health centers at Deschutes County Health Services.
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RYSE gathering: To promote healing from trauma, institutions need to stop seeing youth as the problem
A young man told clinical therapist Marissa Snoddy recently that when she calls him a leader, she got it all wrong. “He said, ‘I just came from Juvenile Hall,’ I’m not a leader.” But, she said, “We just kept giving him love. And we said, ‘You’re courageous for showing up and being here,’” The very fact that he was there, she explained, showed he was a leader. Snoddy related the anecdote recently for 80 people attending the Trauma and Learning Series launch led by Rising Youth for Social...
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School counselors take on at-home trauma in the classroom
Cristo Rey faculty get one full day a week to collaborate and strategize about how to meet the specific needs of individual students. (Bas Slabbers/for WHYY) By Kevin McCorry School counselor Pam Turner-Bunyon had been warned: This new, incoming student had a dark profile and was prone to very erratic behavior. "When he first came to us, he ran out of the building, the first day — the very first day — instead of coming in, he ran," she said. Turner-Bunyon learned what happened and...
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School Counselors: Unsung Heroes of School Climate (edweek.org)
In January 2016, my school embarked on a journey to pursue a trauma-informed approach to education primarily because the research and brain science is clear that trauma impacts brain development, behavior, academics, and even health outcomes. In addition, what we were doing was not working for anyone―our students or our staff. Our early conversations always included Dr. Beth Schroeder, our school counselor. She, like most school counselors, is an expert on intervention and supporting the...
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Re: Trauma Training For Educators (Free)
Thank you Kris for sharing this training video. I really liked the scenarios and visual examples as to how to interact with a student who is emotionally upset. I also liked the study guide for further opportunities to dive deeper into truly understanding trauma and the strategies that are most effective. When I was at Lincoln, I knew how important it was to provide time and space for students to de-escalate, but was not aware of the power of breathing as an effective strategy and tool to...
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Re: Trauma Training For Educators (Free)
I'd also like to respond to your comment, Jim, about the challenge of creating that paradigm shift - making a strong introduction to administrators to convince them that spending 1-2 hours of a professional development day on trauma is a very worthwhile use of their time. We are trying to develop a good intro. letter to principals. However, we've found that it helps tremendously if we have campus staff who have demonstrated their own skills in working with these challenging students and...
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Re: Essentials for an ACEs, trauma-informed, resilience-building school system
To my knowledge and what Jane Stevens shares, we were the first high school in the country to implement a trauma-informed model. I know there are a few high schools that have implemented a trauma-informed model, but I can't speak for them or share there approach....however, I know that the few I have heard about, have had very positive outcomes. Leisa at Paladin has done some very good work and Jane posted an article a few months back of a high school that had implemented trauma informed...
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Re: OurSOLES youth leaders led trauma-informed presentation before educators and school staff
Thanks Jennifer for your thoughts. Spot on, it's imperative we create safe spaces for our children and youth to share, learn, and develop their resilience through authentic engagement with caring adults. Excitedly, OurSOLES youth leaders will be facilitating a Parent Engagement - Healthy Relationships on Tuesday evening with the Diego Valley Charter School's Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting. The youth will lead the entire workshop focused on supporting parents and care givers...
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Re: From Trauma to Peace: Mindfulness Program at Willard Middle School
Absolutely Heidi! In fact, we need regulated adults to avoid dis-regulating children (originally or further). In my parenting work and professional development for teachers (including preschool and chid care pro's) I help adults recognize how and when child behavior triggers their own disregulated and thus disregulating reactions, and how to transform their responses with mindfulness, a process I call The Method , and the 7 Mindsets . I've been doing this work for over 30 years. I also work...
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Re: Failing Schools or Failing Paradigm ?
Greetings All - I am jumping in as I have what may be a somewhat unique perspective on the topic of funding (or fueling) the work we are generally engaged in from within various roles. As a central office admin for 10 years I knew that content literacy (ie, reading, math, science, etc) was important. From a resiliency and asset management perspective, I also knew that learners impacted by trauma/neglect/ACE's were at a distinct disadvantage with peers who did not contend with such adversity.
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Re: Be part of a breathtaking tipping point !
Duan In case you were not aware the national education association is supporting teachers who have traumatized students in their classrooms. So you have union support for trauma informed education. See the article at Best practices for supporting and educating students who have experienced domestic violence or sexual victimization. http://www.nea.org/home/62845.htm
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Re: Student Discipline & Co-Regulation
Love the article, Michael. As a long time school psychologist, I am very familiar with the dance up and down the discipline process, as adults (both teachers and parents) are very much partners with the student in how the trajectory goes for students were are already suffering and lacking skills. Often our responses can lead to further disengagement in school and adult level conflicts which the student observes, which further detracts from their ability to have agency in their developing...
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Training course: Building Resilience and Challenging Systemic Racism
The Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) is here to help you gain the skills necessary to change your community and the world. We will be offering a three-day training course June 10 - 12, 2019, taught by Dr. Ram Bhagat , related to challenging the status quo in the education system that allows systemic racism to flourish . Course details are: The framework for Building Resilience for Challenging Systemic Racism is grounded in Restorative Justice theory, values, and praxis. This three day...
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Trauma education and mindfulness help youth living amid gun violence
Armon Hurst, 2nd from left, first row, Teens on Target, courtesy of YouthAlive! Eighteen-year-old Armon Hurst serves as vice president of the student body at Castlemont High School in Oakland, Calif. He has a 4.0 grade point average, is an avid baseball player, and is slated to go to college next year. But until a few years ago, Hurst would find himself waking from nightmares in the middle of the night. It was difficult to concentrate at school, and he wasn’t eating well. Armon Hurst “There...
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Trauma Informed Care -- Workforce training framework
A colleague of mine -- here in New Zealand!! -- recently passed the attached PDF, from Scotland, onto me. It concerns a relatively recent, and still developing, proposed trauma training framework. This might be helpful to others wishing to go further in introducing TIC in their own services. It includes a consideration of ACEs. Naturally, it needs to incorporate culture-specific additions or modifications to suit your local conditions. The document as it is likely has broad application.
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Trauma Informed Education
We have finally completed our one day seminar on trauma informed education. We will be in Los Angeles in February, New York in early March and Michigan in April. We have attached brochures for each of these presentations Hope to see you there!
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Trauma Informed Education
I am up in New York this week doing trauma informed education training for PESI. If anyone is interested in hanging out and sharing ideas I will be in white plains on wednesday, plainview on thursday and in Manhattan on thursday evening/friday. See attached brochure
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Trauma informed education in juvenile justice settings
Jane Stevens contacted me about posting our presentation delivered at the correctional educators conference this last spring. We have been delivering online professional development to all of the educators in the Ohio Juvenile Justice setting in order...
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Trauma-informed groups rev up to address race, inclusion
Eighteen-year-old Kia Hanson has always enjoyed her time as a youth leader at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC). She’s worked mostly with five- and six-year-olds since she began in 2016. Recently, she tapped into new skills, especially if the kids were having a meltdown. Kia Hanson “If they’re off, we ask them, ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Do you want to talk about anything?’,” she explains. “Basically asking before assuming they’re mad at the world for no reason.” What made the...
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Trauma-informed program in San Diego teaches parents to train other parents
It took two years of weekly meetings between parents and organizers, but now 12 parent leaders at Cherokee Point Elementary School in City Heights, a mostly low-income urban neighborhood with 91,000 residents in San Diego, are teaching people about...
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Trauma Informed Schools: Part 2, Creating Trauma Informed Classrooms
In October a video showing a senior deputy yank a student from her seat and flip her desk at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina went viral on the Internet. This incident gained wide national attention and demonstrates the need for...
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Trauma-Informed Social Justice: Q&A with Dr. Bukuloa Ogunkua
Cissy's Note: I work with people who challenge systems and policies, who reform or start non-profits, and who see hope and promise where others see despair or destruction. While some folks shake their heads or shrug indifferently in the face of injustice and suffering, others organize, mobilize, and channel their time and energy towards making a change. Maybe a physician hosts an annual conference bringing trauma-informed approaches to medical practice. Perhaps a woman shares ACEs 101...
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Trauma Sensitive Schools - June 12, 2017 - Trauma Sensitive Schools - June 12, 2017 - UPDATED INFORMATION FOR THOSE FROM OUTSIDE AGENCIES & DISTRICTS
UPDATED NOTE: For Outside Agencies and Districts – Thank you for your interest, we are happy to have you, please complete the form (Attached) below and email to Nicole LoBese ( nicole.lobese@sanjuan.edu ). by 5pm on JUNE 2, 2017. Brief summary of the day – Keynotes focus on ACEs study, physiology and neurology of the brain and impact of trauma on behavior. Participants would gain basic understanding of the brain science of reactivity and stress, how staff can prevent and intervene with...
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Trauma-sensitive teacher
This is a good article that identifies key reasons why educators need to be trauma-informed.
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Trauma Training For Educators (Free)
This is a free video training resource designed to give anyone who works with children important trauma-focused information about how student learning and behavior is impacted by trauma and how educators and support staff can help students develop a...
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Turnaround for Children releases new paper and announces hiring for key positions
Michael Lamb, Executive Director, Washington D.C., Turnaround for Children sent the following message about a new paper, Building Blocks for Learning, just released by Turnaround and three new positions it is seeking to fill. Take a look: "Hi friends and colleagues, it’s an exciting time for Turnaround in Washington, D.C. as we work towards our vision that one day all children in the US attend schools that prepare them for the lives they choose. In addition to our exciting work in schools,...
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Understanding and Initiating Trauma-Informed Change - Workshop Offering
Cultivate Change Leadership Skills for a “Trauma-Informed” Approach January 16-17th, 2020 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM EDT Please join us for this two-day deep-dive workshop. Most people working in schools and social services are saying things just got harder. Mental health issues, disruptive behaviors, and addiction are adding stressful new challenges for families and institutions already feeling overwhelmed. We try to address these issues one-by-one - by “referring out” - hoping a doctor or mental...
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Using Creative Expression to build SEL skills in Elementary-aged Kids
For over twenty years, Art with Heart has been spreading the healing power of creative expression to kids experiencing trauma or adversity. Our therapeutic activity books for youth, and resources for the adults who serve them transform pain into possibility for young people around the world. Now in our third decade, we’ll reach 3.5 million more kids through our innovative online learning community and through collaboration with many personal, unique partnerships. Join certified trainer Lulu...
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Using Meditation to Help Close the Achievement Gap [Well.Blogs.NYTimes.com]
Closing the so-called achievement gap between poor inner-city children and their more affluent suburban counterparts is among the biggest challenges for education reformers. The success of some schools’ efforts suggests that meditation might significantly improve children’s school performance – and help close that gap. In 2007, James Dierke, then the principal of the Visitacion Valley Middle School in a troubled neighborhood in San Francisco, was determined to improve both the quality of...
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Values for a Trauma-Informed Care Culture in Your Classroom and School
Five core values for establishing a trauma-informed culture in your classroom and/or school. An emphasis on these values lead to a relationship-based culture.
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Want to Reduce Bullying in Schools? Bring in Babies [nationswell.com]
Emotional development in schools is integral to the way that students develop academically, and it also sets them up to be responsible, caring citizens once they reach adulthood. Not only that, but having the ability to empathize with others has been shown to reduce aggression in problem children and reduce incidences of bullying in school. It’s a notion that educator and author Mary Gordon is intimately familiar with. As the founder and executive director of Roots of Empathy , she’s devoted...
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Washington State bill includes social-emotional learning guidance informed by ACEs science
Washington state legislator Tana Senn, has introduced the “Summer Step-Up Act” to improve social-emotional learning throughout the calendar year to reduce kids' summer learning loss.
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Wellness approach supports students (smartbrief.com)
The role teachers play in child development is a vital one, but playing it can be emotionally draining, asserts Alex Shevrin, a teacher at Center Point School in Winooski, Vt. When [a student] calls me a b****, my first question is, Hey, are you okay? she said in a recent Education Talk Radio interview , explaining that a child acting out is facing larger problems. If you have an opportunity to break the script and say something they're not expecting, it gets you a little closer in building...
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What does it mean to educate the ‘Whole Child’? [communityadvocate.com]
Marlborough – One in five students today may struggle with mental illness as reported in the December 2017/January 2018 issue of Educational Leadership. Furthermore, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMOI) estimates that 20 percent of youths aged 13-18 live with a mental health condition. On average, there are 121 suicides every day in the United States, of all ages as reported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. According to NAMOI, 50 percent of all mental illness...
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What if Schools Taught Kindness? [GreaterGood.Berkelely.edu]
Walking to class one day, one of us (Laura) saw a young student crying and waiting for his mother to arrive—he had split his chin while playing. When Laura got to class, the other students were very upset and afraid for their friend, full of questions about what would happen to him. Laura decided to ask the class how they could help him. “Caring practice!” exclaimed one of the children—and they all sat in a circle offering support and well wishes. The children...
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What Lies Beneath Behavior? Introducing Echo's New Infographic!
Every novelist, psychologist, anthropologist and your Aunt Jane have wanted to know this. What motivates people and what’s going on when their behavior is irritating or just plain doesn’t make sense? At Echo, we encourage adults to look beneath the behavior of children and to understand ‘behavior as communication.’ It may be that the child is choosing a way of communicating that is hard for you to deal with but that doesn’t diminish the fact that the behavior is driven by some deep need or...
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What Your Facebook Network Reveals about How You Use Your Brain (scientificamerican.com)
Decades of research have shown that having more numerous and stronger connections predicts better health and well-being , but the shape of your social network matters too. People who are “information brokers” connect people who wouldn’t otherwise know each other. More broadly, being a good friend, teacher, or manager often requires taking the perspective of others—seeing the world through their eyes and understanding their joys and sorrows. These capacities depend on a social brain network ,...
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When Grit Isn’t Enough [EWA.org]
The first time I heard a preschooler explaining a classmate’s disruptive behavior, I was surprised at how adult her four-year-old voice sounded. Her classmate “doesn’t know how to sit still and listen,” she said to me, while I sat at the snack table with them. He couldn’t learn because he couldn’t follow directions, she explained, as if she had recently completed a behavioral assessment on him. Months before either of these children would start...
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When Students Are Traumatized, Teachers Are Too (www.edutopia.org)
"Data shows that more than half of all U.S. children have experienced some kind of trauma in the form of abuse, neglect, violence, or challenging household circumstances—and 35 percent of children have experienced more than one type of traumatic event, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)." "“Being a teacher is a stressful enough job, but teachers are now responsible for a lot more things than just providing education,” says LeAnn Keck, a manager at Trauma Smart...
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Why and How Teachers Can Become Better Prepared for Trauma in Schools
Below is the text of an article appearing in Forest of the Rain Productions with a special thanks to Dr. Michael Robinson. Link to piece is: https://forestoftheraineducation.weebly.com/we-donrsquot-teach-educators-enough-about-trauma-we-should-do-more-karen-gross.html TEXT: Hardly a week goes by without some trauma in the US. Some events are nature made; some are human-made. There appear to be fewer and fewer “safe” places and spaces. The usually “safe” places – schools, universities,...
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Why I believe Gregory Williams, and his book, Shattered By The Darkness, will help save lives and revolutionize healthcare.
When you first hear about it, it sounds unlikely, fact that something that happened to someone in utero, at the age of two months, or four years, or any time in childhood, is what is killing them as an adult, or making them want to die, or making them want to hurt themselves or others. Yet the connection between childhood trauma and adult disease, mental illness, addiction, suicide, violence – most all of society’s ills – is as irrefutable as the myriad truths revealed about it in the...
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Why Mandating Mental Health Education in Schools is a Band-Aid on a Gaping Wound
Don’t get me wrong: of course I care deeply about the mental and physical health of children, including my own son’s. I don’t want students to suffer in silence and shame. But I am very concerned about just how this topic will be taught in schools.
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Why Schools Should Be Organized To Prioritize Relationships (kqed.org)
Over many years researchers in the learning sciences, psychology, anthropology and neuroscience have learned a lot about how humans learn. One of the key properties is malleability. The brain changes in response to relationships and experiences, continuing to develop through young adulthood. And while the children in any class will develop differently based on their experiences, the brain will grow and change with the right inputs. "What's most interesting is a child can become a productive...
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Why Social And Emotional Skill Building In Early Childhood Matters [ChildTrends.org]
I started my career as a preschool teacher. For 13 years, I helped 3- to 5-year-old children learn how to write their name; count, sort and use other foundational math concepts; manage their toileting and dressing independently; and meet other easily-observable school-readiness milestones. The children were flourishing, and their families were delighted with their achievements! But woven throughout the multi-faceted learning experiences supporting cognitive, language, physical, and self-help...
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Why Teens Should Understand Their Own Brains (And Why Their Teachers Should, Too!) [npr.org]
A teenage brain is a fascinating, still-changing place. There's a lot going on: social awareness, risk-taking, peer pressure; all are heightened during this period. Until relatively recently, it was thought that the brain was only actively developing during childhood, but in the last two decades, researchers have confirmed that the brain continues to develop during adolescence — a period of time that can stretch from the middle school years into early adulthood. "We were always under the...
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Why We Should Bring Meditation Into Schools (wakeup-world.com)
Imagine if meditation was a regular part of school life for children. Just think how different the world would be. If every child was able to connect to the ocean of consciousness that permeates all that is, the desire to do wrong by others would dissolve. Meditation helped me find meaning in my own life. I would not be following my heart and trying to change the education system if it weren’t for meditation. It connected me to the deepest yearning of my own soul, and aligned me with my...
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YBRS survey and report from Monroe County, New York
Elizabeth Meeker, an ACEs Connection member from Monroe County, New York shared that her county schools added ACEs questions to their Youth Behavioral Risk Survey (YBRS) in 2015, which is administered to students in schools. They were kind enough to share the instrument as well as a summary report of findings (both attached here). Elizabeth has indicated that she is available to answer questions that you all may have about the implementation of the survey. Thank you Elizabeth, for sharing!
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you are one of the cool kids
We spend a great deal of our energy on fitting in. While insecurity and ego are sometimes part of this effort, it’s inappropriate to think of “fitting in” as a weakness or a crutch. The drive to connect is built into the essence of being human. Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk in his (one of the best I’ve read in the last five years) book, “The Body Keeps the Score,” says, “Our culture teaches us to focus on personal uniqueness, but at a deeper level, we barely exist as individual organisms. Our...