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When considering implementing trauma-informed practices in your school, you might find yourself asking: How do I know which students have experienced trauma, so I can teach those students in a trauma-informed way? While it’s important to identify students in need of extra support, we can use trauma-informed practices with every single student because they benefit them all. Think of a wheelchair-accessible ramp to a building: Not every single person needs it, but it significantly removes...

Columbine survivor Heather Egeland-Martin said it took more than a decade for her to fully address the trauma she experienced during the mass shooting at her Colorado high school on April 20, 1999. She wasn’t hurt in the shooting but said the psychological trauma festered and influenced her actions for years before she learned to “advocate” for herself. “The idea that survivors are not worthy of feeling [trauma] kept me from getting help,” Egeland-Martin said. “Survivor’s guilt is a thing.

When Emerie Lukas was hired to develop and teach a STEM Foundations course to middle school students at the Dayton Regional STEM School , she was starting from scratch. The stated goal of the course was to prepare students for more rigorous work in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classes in high school, but Lukas knew that meant far more than academic preparation. She needed to teach her students how to give and take effective feedback, how to solve conflicts, how to...

While there is an abundance of research supporting the benefits of mindfulness , the term “mindfulness” is incredibly broad. Some people cultivate mindfulness in order to hone their attention and focus, while others see it as a tool for a kinder attitude and more intentional behavior. While seemingly simple, practicing mindfulness actually involves a variety of skills. In a study published in the journal Emotion , researchers from Germany aimed to differentiate how specific components of...

The abuse and neglect that Dave Reichert (D-Wash.) experienced as a child led him down a path to help kids through his law enforcement career. As a lead detective on the infamous Green River murder case in Washington, Reichert witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of foster care, neglect and abuse that led young girls into prostitution and ultimately into the hands of a serial killer. Since 2004, he’s used his experience to affect change in Congress. He counts passage of the...

America is as divided, as ever, by race, sex, class, religion, politics, urban/rural. Not surprising, since historically our laws were designed to separate us, and our media has stoked fears to keep us that way. Feminist bell hooks used the term “Imperialist White-Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy” to describe the interlocking systems of domination that are foundational to our nation’s institutions: criminal justice, education, healthcare, housing, and many of our policies—particularly...

Walla Walla Public Schools is teaming up with a local nonprofit to ensure every employee in the district better understands childhood trauma and how it affects students. The all-employee training slated to take place over a two-year time span is a first such effort for the district and for Teri Barila, co-founder and head of Community Resilience Initiative. The organization strives to reduce childhood trauma and help build resilience through educational, health and other community systems.

After stepping down from her position as principal at Science Hill High School in May, Melanie Riden-Bacon set out to transform what was once known as the Alternative Center into what is now Topper Academy. Riden-Bacon, now the Topper Academy director, said in July that it was time for a “culture shift.” Part of that shift involved instituting trauma care training and rewarding good behavior and academic achievement, rather than using the center as a “punitive” place for students struggling...

Carey talks with Katie Albright , director of Safe and Sound (formerly San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center). Throughout her career, Katie has been pioneering in the fields of law, education and social services, both domestically and internationally. Pioneering is a legacy in her family as her mother, Madeleine Albright was the first woman in US history to serve as secretary of state. Katie and Carey discuss the value of a big vision that is grounded in real data and strategic ...

It is safe to say that few people on the planet know more than Sebern Fisher about neurofeedback for developmental trauma. We were thrilled she joined us live last week for the Parenting with ACEs Community chat series . Fisher is the author of Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Calming the fear-driven Brain . Fisher uses neurofeedback in clinical practice (where she specializes in attachment issues) as well as with her own brain. She trains and consults in the...

Melanie Barrier went into the Florida foster care system as a newborn. She lived in 20 foster homes before she was adopted at age 10. Stability existed in only one realm: music. As a child traveling from family to family, Barrier took along her beloved songs of the 1970s. As an adult, Barrier, 55, is using music to change the lives of foster and adopted children. Her organization, Music That Reclaims , serves kids here and across the country, taking them to concerts and musical theater...

In 2013, Trisha Prabhu read a news story that broke her heart — a 12-year-old girl had taken her life after experiencing cyberbullying. Prabhu was only 13 at the time and couldn't understand someone younger than her taking her own life. However, instead of processing her shock and moving on, she decided to do something about it. "I started thinking about what I could do to stop this from ever happening again," writes Prabhu in an email. [For more on this story, go to...