Blog

By Paul Gorski, Educational Leadership, October 2020 "I have a story for you," Shari said as she jogged toward me. I had spent the day with her high school's administrative team discussing an equity assessment they hoped to conduct. A major challenge at this school, as in many schools, was the leadership team's habit of embracing shiny new program after shiny new program rather than addressing deep institutional problems. Their latest shiny new program was trauma-informed education. That...

Morning meetings are a good place to start, but what you really need is a toolkit of strategies to meet your students’ social and emotional needs all day long. By Tom Berger September 23, 2020 “Maslow before Bloom”—we hear it all the time. The idea that educators should meet students’ basic needs for safety and belonging before turning to challenging academic tasks is one that guides the work of many schools. In this era of high-stakes testing and inflexible curricula, that’s not as easy to...

By J. Brian Charles, The Trace, September 24, 2020 On a screen full of faces, the lone black square rang alarm bells for the Philadelphia teacher. The boy on the other side hadn’t turned on his camera and his microphone was muted. According to the rules for remote learning at John B. Stetson Charter School , the student was supposed to keep his laptop camera on during class. The teacher alerted Edwin Desamour, the dean at the middle school. A few days later, during a meeting with the student...

The 16 Strong Project is dedicated to empowering resilience to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through educational workshops, school partnerships, and community outreach. 16 Strong strives to continue conversations that help young people recognize and navigate the challenges they are facing as a result of ACEs. We believe that with strong support systems, healthy coping mechanisms and a positive mindset, the negative impacts of ACEs can be mitigated.

By JOHN FENSTERWALD , September 22nd, 2020, on Ed Source State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced an “Education to End Hate” initiative Monday that he and others presented as an alternative to President Donald Trump’s call for “patriotic education” and as an antidote to acts of hate and hate speech that have risen during his presidency. A $1 million foundation donation kick started the effort. It will include resources and training grants for teachers to teach...

By Chalkbeat staff Once again, a justice system declined to bring charges against police officers in the killing of a Black American. Once again, demonstrators took to the streets to protest. Once again, a sense of hopelessness hung over communities. And once again, as one Tennessee educator told us on Thursday, school staff must still “get up and teach and act as if none of yesterday happened.” Throughout this tumultuous year, Chalkbeat has sought to lift up the voices of students and...

The Hope and Justice category was created under the guidance of educators, youth and young adults and community-based partners. While Directing Change will continue to offer it’s core film-focused contest and curriculums, the Hope and Justice category will accept and award submissions on a monthly basis and in multiple art forms. The Hope & Justice category is an opportunity for young people living through history to express their feelings, take action, and to inspire others through art.

By Jenny Anderson, The New York Times, September 20, 2020 When schools shuttered in March, David Miyashiro, the superintendent of the Cajon Valley Union School District, immediately started connecting with families and teachers. During hundreds of calls, Zoom meetings and socially distanced in-person gatherings, he heard desperate pleas from poor parents torn between work and home instruction, or who needed support for high-needs students. Mr. Miyashiro vowed to reopen schools in the fall,...

The School Crisis Recovery and Renewal project Supporting students, educators, school staff, and school-based clinicians to effectively implement trauma-informed crisis recovery and renewal strategies. The School Crisis Recovery & Renewal (SCRR) project is a new initiative that launched June 2020. Funded by SAMHSA, the School Crisis Recovery & Renewal (SCRR) is a National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) Treatment and Services Adaptation Center (Category II, 2020-2025).

The downstream effect of childhood trauma has been well documented regarding the biological and psychosocial impacts. This presentation will highlight the neurobiological changes associated with ACEs that function as a "primer" for the onset of addiction and related behaviors. It will conclude with principles for influencing these same pathways that assist with restoration of the mind and health downstream effect of childhood trauma has been well documented regarding the biological and...

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2020 Two months after a divided Los Angeles Unified school board slashed funding for its police department by more than a third, the contours of a dramatically diminished force emerged this week. Under a plan presented to the board on Tuesday, police officers would be removed from school campuses and weekend patrols meant to protect schools from vandalism would be eliminated, among other cuts. The debate over the proposed cuts, set for later...