One kid’s trauma can be a lot to handle. Managing a whole school of kids who have been traumatized can seem insurmountable.These kids are more likely to act out in class, have attendance problems, and get lower grades than their peers.
Michigan native Kim Kazmierczak has witnessed these behaviors first hand as the principal of Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It’s a public school with just under 1,000 kids in grades 6-8 and 120 staff. 85% of Wilson's kids get free or reduced price lunch.
This is Iowa. There wasn't a war or some cataclysmic accident in the town. These kids were just poor, and more likely to have had the adverse experiences that add up to trauma. When Kazmierczak became principal three years ago, she had an average of 60 students a day sent to her office for acting out in class.
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