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Standing on top of Ogun Mountain, in the Sacred City of 41 Mountains, West Africa, I knew my life would forever change. The women from the royal house danced for me. The men drummed me into a trance. They called me by my African name as they welcomed me home. On the soil of my ancestors, the healing began. I am a black woman born in the 1970’s. Nine generations ago, my ancestors were on the continent of Africa inhabiting the Kingdom of Dahomey. We were thriving. Unbeknownst to most, we were...

By Petula Dvorak, Photo: Amanda Voisard/The Washington Post, The Washington Post, July 25, 2022 “It’s a whole different generation,” Barbara Mickles said out loud, to no one in particular, shaking her head and adding a grandmotherly “mmm-hmmm” to underscore the absurdity of $100 sneakers on ever-growing kid feet. Mickles, 62, was watching a swarm of kids, including a few of her 16 grandchildren, go giddy over sneakers — Nike, Adidas, Champion. All the hot brands. Back in Arkansas, Shoe...

Last Chance! Applications are due 8/15! 16 Strong Project is excited to be recruiting for our 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. Together, we are combatting the youth mental health crisis by empowering youth leaders and uplifting youth voices. We are looking for a group of creative, resourceful, hard-working youth ages...

Learn4Life highlights National Parents’ Day to remind us of the importance of the parent voice in educational decisions that impact students LOS ANGELES (July 25, 2022) – Did you know the fourth Sunday of July is National Parents' Day? President Clinton established this day in 1994 to promote responsible parenting and to recognize positive parental role models. And shouldn’t parents’ role in education be a part of this designation? While we rely on parents to make sure their children go to...

Are you ready to transform your school to become a trauma-informed and healing-centered environment? An institute specifically tailored for school leaders and leadership teams who want to understand the HOW of trauma-informed schools. Join us for an encore of PACEsConnection Trauma-Informed School Leadership Institute. Speakers included current and former building leaders engaged in the work as well as other national experts supporting schools through this transformation process.

By Giles Bruce, Photo: Giles Bruce/Kaiser Health News, National Public Radio, June 10, 2022 Linnea Sorensen falls into a funk whenever her girlfriend of four years leaves for her six-month stints with the Marines, and the high school junior has trouble concentrating on her classwork. "I'm somebody who struggles with my mental health quite a bit," said the 17-year-old, who attends school in Schaumburg, Ill., a suburb of about 77,000 people northwest of Chicago. "When you're in school and not...

By Janie Har, Photo: Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo, Associated Press, July 15, 2022 San Francisco Bay Area high school teacher Lisa Raskin moved out of a cramped apartment she was sharing with a roommate and into her own place this month, paying a deeply discounted $1,500 a month for a one-bedroom with expansive views within walking distance to work. It was once an impossible dream in an exorbitantly priced region hostile to new housing. But her employer, a 4,000-student school district...

Learn4Life high school students participate in a culinary skills career technical education course and Camryn (pictured below), shows off the baking creation she made during class. National Culinary Month highlights the importance of teaching foodservice and cooking skills to high schoolers who make up a big part of the restaurant industry workforce. LOS ANGELES (July 8, 2022) – Why does it take so long to get your order when you go out to eat? The number one problem is a decline in...

Image: © Provided by The Daily Beast Facebook/James Whitfield A member of a school board in Texas has said the quiet part out loud, admitting that a beloved Black high school principal who shared his stance on racism in the wake of George Floyd’s death was pushed out of the job for being a “total activist.” Dr. James Whitfield , who became Colleyville High School’s first Black principal in 2020, wrote a letter to the school community about police brutality after Floyd’s murder, which led to...

In April 2022, the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) organized more than 170 advocates across 36 states to sign a coalition letter urging Congress to invest $1 billion in this year’s federal budget to increase trauma-informed resources and improve access to mental health professionals in America’s schools. This work has paid off. In June, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee released their draft Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) spending legislation, which included CTIPP’s...

By Donna St. George, Photo: Damian Dovarganes/AP, The Washington Post, July 6, 2022 The data, collected as the 2021-2022 school year was winding down, also showed that more than 70 percent of schools saw increases in chronic student absenteeism since the onset of the pandemic and about half of schools reported increased acts of disrespect toward teachers and staff. “The survey paints a remarkably coherent picture,” said Kevin Welner, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and...

By Jo Napolitano, Image: UnidosUS , The74, July 11, 2022 After a decade of gains in academics and a marked boost in high school graduation rates and college attendance, Latino students suffered significant setbacks during the pandemic as many attended underfunded schools and had limited internet access at home, a new report shows. Some of these children also struggled with a language barrier — as did their parents — making the switch to remote learning even tougher, according to UnidosUS,...