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By Christopher Edley, JR. and Maria Echaveste, EdSource, June 25, 2020 Weeks of racial justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic have together drawn much-needed attention to the race-based disparities embedded in our institutions, from policing to health care. These disparities are also deeply rooted in our communities and schools. During these prolonged school disruptions, Black, Latinx and low-income students have been disproportionately affected. As we learned in real-time, these...

Becoming Trauma Informed is about changing ourselves and the environment to foster trauma resilience in those we come in contact with. If schools are using Social Emotional Learning curriculum (SEL) only as an add-on program to implement, then it isn’t about the teachers and environment changing, it is merely about changing the behavior of students. If we are solely trying to change others to make them conform to pre-set standards, it is continuing the oppressive cycle. Command and control...

By George Farmer, Education Next, June 23, 2020 As the world has paused to analyze the deficiencies of police departments, it is not enough. All aspects of America have to examine areas of systemic injustice. That includes schools, which now have an opportunity to rise to the occasion and improve. American schools are de facto segregated based on income and ethnicity. Where students live determines the quality of education students will receive. Black and Latinx communities receive less...

Hi everyone! We'd like to introduce our new ACEs Connection Anti-Racism Resources List c ulled from resources shared by Learn4Life, Prevention Institute., Rise Magazine , V A TICN , Vital Village , 10% Happier . and our own ACEs Connection members and staff . You can access them from this widget on the top right side of our home page or by clicking here. The list has the following categories of resources: Racial Trauma, Historical Trauma, & Healing Police Brutality & Reform...

As schools and districts across the nation look to reopen, whether in-person or virtually, in the coming months, they are likely to face even greater strain as they seek to meet the academic and health needs of students, staff, and educators with already limited resources. To assist schools in proactively addressing the health needs of educators and staff, a number of nationally recognized and trusted school health organizations have come together to develop a playbook for school reopening —...

By Rae Jacobson, The Child Mind Institute, June 23, 2020 It’s a trying time to be the parent of a teenager. After months of being cooped up at home away from friends, unable to attend school or go out, most kids are chomping at the bit to get back to the lives they had before the pandemic. Getting teens to take safety seriously is a struggle at the best of times, and as the nation moves towards reopening, it’s never been more important to ensure kids are following the rules. How can parents...

"Woke" language is not a substitute for the deep work anti-racism requires By Jamilah Pitts June 16, 2020 Educators have to move beyond the buzzwords and trends circulating today if we are seeking to truly transform schools. The terms “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” simply are not enough. And I fear now that the radicalism tied to anti-racist work is being watered down. Educational trendy buzzwords pave a destructive road for the commodification of otherwise transformative action.

By Antero Garcia and Nicole Mirra, EdSource, June 17, 2020 As school districts and county offices of education make plans for safely reopening schools in the fall and helping students cope with their trauma, it is urgent that they also recognize and make space for teachers to process and heal from their own feelings of loss and grief. Nearly every teacher we have ever worked with puts their emotional needs aside in order to address the emotional needs of their students when tragedy...

By Vanessa Sacks and Rebecca M. Jones, Child Trends, June 17, 2020 With the abrupt closure of schools around the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many community-based organizations that provide critical supports to students in the school building have had to stop offering services. Others have quickly transitioned to a new way of serving students and have learned some early and important lessons along the way. Child Trends has been working with youthCONNECT at Suitland High...

By Karen Gross, The Hechinger Report, June 22, 2020 Our students are traumatized. They are living with fear and confusion. They are experiencing or witnessing police violence, rioting and looting. And schools, a place where children typically process events and emotions, are shuttered. What are children to do? Who will acknowledge, understand and respond to their trauma and its accompanying symptomology? Who’s there to enable our students to understand racism and violence, and to mitigate...

By Rebecca London & William Massey, June 22, 2020, The Conversation. Once children return to school for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic upended everything, they will most likely spend less time on school grounds . And as educational leaders decide how to schedule elementary school students’ days, they see catching students up on math, English and other academic subjects as a top priority. In our view, helping students heal from the stress and trauma of what they have been...

Dana Brown, California's ACEs Science Statewide Facilitator, and Tracie Travers , Jobs for Maine's Graduates, JAG Main State Trainer, discuss the importance of acknowledging fear, loss, and vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes: Tips to build resilience Self-care strategies Multiple resources with hyperlinks are provided in this video designed to support school partners and their employees as they support students and communities. Video Link: Collective Trauma Healing...