Tagged With "Milo and the Wisdom of the Sea"
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Advice for New Principals: Be 'Emotionally Vulnerable With Your Staff' (edweek.org)
In our second installment of advice for new principals, Education Week talked to Melissa Hensley, who just finished her seventh year as principal of Central High School in Woodstock, Va. Hensley was the Virginia state principal of the year in 2016 and a finalist for the 2017 National Principal of the Year, an award given by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. EW: What words of wisdom do you have for a first-year principal? HENSLEY : One thing that really comes to...
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Portions of the Educators’ Art of Facilitation shared in Wichita
An exercises we encountered at the Family Peace Initiative in Topeka and one that both Rebecca and Katie shared at the Moving the Needle conference in Wichita, is “pandora’s box and the cover story.” Pandora’s box contains the following evils: sickness, death, turmoil, strife, jealousy, hatred, famine……but also within the box is the light of HOPE. Katie Perez, an education consultant at Essdack, made over 400 of the boxes pictured above for those in attendance at their Moving the Needle...
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Echo Conference Spotlight: Attachment Trauma & Network Panel
Echo’s conference this year is jam packed with exciting workshops for teachers, parents and anyone who works with children and their families. In addition featuring to the landmark work of Ron Hertel and Mona Johnson in Washington State, we are proud to present: Attachment Trauma & Network Panel Workshop Spotlight: What Parents Wish Schools Knew About Our Traumatized Kids Are you struggling with a challenging child? Hearing the parents from Attachment Trauma Network ( ATN ) gives you a...
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Engaging Parents, Developing Leaders
A Self-Assessment and Planning Tool for Nonprofits and Schools By the Annie E. Casey Foundation This publication introduces an assessment and planning tool to help nonprofits evaluate their parent engagement efforts and chart a path toward deeper partnerships with parents and caregivers. The tool spans just eight pages, with accompanying text outlining how to use it, how to assess its results and what real-world strategies and programs are already in play — and working — to boost parent...
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For those that ordered... the trauma-informed curriculum for churches is headed out the door this week!
It's been a labor of love more than a year in the making, and it is exciting to see the curriculum come together and head out to those that will give this first version a "test drive" this spring and (hopefully) give me some great feedback so I can make improvements over the summer and make the curriculum better! It is called "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks: a six week study of trauma-informed ministry and compassionate care for children from hard places and situations." The study is...
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Gathering in Topeka, Kansas for the Educators’ Art of Facilitation Chapter IV
According to Alice Miller author of The Drama of the Gifted Child, an Enlightened Witness is “an understanding person who helps a victim of abuse recognize the injustice they suffered and gives vent to their feelings about what happened to them”. Brene Brown author of Daring Greatly states, "empathy is feeling with or alongside someone, while sympathy is feeling sorry for." https://youtu.be/1Evwgu369Jw In Topeka we unpacked and explored the message of the Enlightened Witnesses in our lives.
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Healing ACE's
Healing Childhood Trauma I’d like to thank each member of ACE’s Connection for all your work helping and supporting children through various activities and organizations. You are clearly a collection of people who care about the children of the world. It is in recognition of these efforts that I ask you to consider two books on healing childhood trauma. They represent a life-time partnership dedicated to raising and educating healthy children. Secondly, I’d like to ask you for a word of...
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How a glitter-filled ball is shaking up southern Dallas' mental health predicament (dallasnews.com)
We know that solutions will come only through authentic partnerships within communities that need the help : Listen to the voices of residents and enlist trusted neighborhood long-timers. That wisdom comes from the Oak Cliff-based Momentous Institute , funded by the Salesmanship Club and long in the business of improving the social-emotional health of children and their families. Momentous devises easily digestible strategies that teachers can use to help all of its 248 students, most of...
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How It Feels & How We Heal: Parenting with ACEs Chat Quotes (You Tube, Database, PDFs, Links)
Parenting with ACEs is sharing inspiration, information, and expertise from our chat series in 3 formats. Parenting with ACEs: How It Feels & How We Heal Quote Collection (pdf version below as well) Quotes Database (pdf version below as well) Links to Chat Transcripts and before and after-the-chat blog posts. Thanks to everyone who showed up, who shared, and who is doing the important work that is our mission (prevent ACEs, heal trauma, build resilience). We know that work happens...
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Incorporating Trauma Informed Practice and ACEs into Professional Curricula - a Toolkit
The toolkit is designed to aid faculty and teachers in a variety of disciplines, specifically social work, medicine, law, education, and counseling, to develop or integrate critical content on adverse childhood experiences and trauma informed care into new or existing curricula of graduate education programs. This toolkit provides an overview of colleges and universities that have courses in trauma-informed practice and ACEs science. Most of the toolkit comprises content for a course on...
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
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Beyond Paper Tigers: The Heart of the Matter
Graphic artist Anne Nelson created this visual roadmap during the partner showcase, capturing the "heart of the matter" for each community member Teri Barila, co-founder and CEO of the Children’s Resilience Initiative and the igniting force that brought change to a quiet corner of southeast Washington, kicked off last month’s Beyond Paper Tigers Conference by sharing one of her “aha” moments. In 2007, she attended a conference in Winthrop, WA, where Dr. Robert Anda spoke about the CDC-Kaiser...
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Challenging Conventional Wisdom, New Report Suggests Diversity of America’s Teaching Force Has Not Kept Pace With Population [the74million.org]
This is the latest article in The 74’s ongoing ‘ Big Picture ’ series, bringing American education into sharper focus through new research and data. Go Deeper: See our full series . T aking aim at the perception that efforts to diversify the teaching profession are working, a new study by the Brookings Institution shows that the educator workforce is growing disproportionately white over time. The analysis, released last week, offers a counterintuitive finding since the educator workforce...
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Lincoln High dedicates new courtroom facility for mock trials, criminal justice classes (sandiegounified.org)
Lincoln High dedicates new courtroom facility for mock trials, criminal justice classes | San Diego Unified Newscenter //--><![CDATA[//><!-- (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js","ga");ga("create", "UA-10591117-2",...
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The Relentless School Nurse: Candida Rodriguez is Creating Community Through the Power of Conversations That Matter
Candida Rodriguez is my mentor, while she may disagree with that statement and say it is the opposite, it is the absolute truth. My respect, admiration, and amazement at the depth of her knowledge, talent, and compassion astound me every time we work together. Candida serves her complex and ever-changing community with dedication, skill and a relentless pursuit of coordinating care for her students and families. We are partners in the Community Cafe Initiative that began in 2015 after I...
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Rediscovering the Lessons from Progressive Education to Create Trauma-Informed Schools for All
“In this bright future you can't forget your past.” -Bob Marley What if the roots of public education in this country provided us with a vision for creating trauma-responsive environments for all students? Lately I have been reflecting on why the principles and practices of creating trauma-informed/trauma-responsive environments in school settings connected with me deep down in my bones. It was a visceral feeling, a sense of validation and resonance in both my head and my heart. The science...
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Re: How are schools incorporating trauma informed practices, if they are at all?
Leisa- I will be sharing your excellent experience and wisdom with peers in education. Thank you for your great details in this post and your daily work to impact kids!
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Toxic Schools Worsening Toxic Stress: The Destructive Reign of Universal Standards, Pathology, Medication and Behaviorism
This post is the first chapter of a book. The names HAVE NOT been changed, as each individual profoundly impacted the author's growth and development. She wants their identities to remain intact. I did not realize that my first years in public education would profoundly shape my trauma-informed journey and what I would do nearly twenty years later. But I clearly remember the late fall of 2001. I was completing my second year in a master’s program for school counseling at the University of...
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Training course: Building Resilience and Challenging Systemic Racism
The Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) is here to help you gain the skills necessary to change your community and the world. We will be offering a three-day training course June 10 - 12, 2019, taught by Dr. Ram Bhagat , related to challenging the status quo in the education system that allows systemic racism to flourish . Course details are: The framework for Building Resilience for Challenging Systemic Racism is grounded in Restorative Justice theory, values, and praxis. This three day...
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Trauma education and mindfulness help youth living amid gun violence
Armon Hurst, 2nd from left, first row, Teens on Target, courtesy of YouthAlive! Eighteen-year-old Armon Hurst serves as vice president of the student body at Castlemont High School in Oakland, Calif. He has a 4.0 grade point average, is an avid baseball player, and is slated to go to college next year. But until a few years ago, Hurst would find himself waking from nightmares in the middle of the night. It was difficult to concentrate at school, and he wasn’t eating well. Armon Hurst “There...
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Trauma-informed groups rev up to address race, inclusion
Eighteen-year-old Kia Hanson has always enjoyed her time as a youth leader at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC). She’s worked mostly with five- and six-year-olds since she began in 2016. Recently, she tapped into new skills, especially if the kids were having a meltdown. Kia Hanson “If they’re off, we ask them, ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Do you want to talk about anything?’,” she explains. “Basically asking before assuming they’re mad at the world for no reason.” What made the...
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U.S. Department of Education begins investigation into discrimination against Native students in Montana’s Wolf Point School District (newsmaven.io)
After years of documented instances of anti-Native racism — including the use of racial slurs and harmful stereotypes by white administrators, faculty, and staff — in a school where 94 percent of Native students are below proficiency in reading, compared to 49 percent of white students, the U.S. Department of Education is starting an investigation into discrimination against Native students in Montana’s Wolf Point School District. Investigators with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office...
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Unintended Consequences
This article -- The Education Practice That is Costing Taxpayers Billions of Dollars -- is about what may happen to students who are suspended from school. While not everything bad happens to all students who are suspended, there are enough of them to have a societal impact. The problem is that the societal impact is far enough into the future that it becomes disconnected from the event that might cause it. Or maybe there are a lot of events that might lead to the result, but we aren't aware...
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We Need the WHOLE to Create Trauma-Informed Systems
Sometimes I think I have PTSD from failed change efforts. I am not kidding. I have developed symptoms from living through nearly twenty years of failed education reform efforts. When I reflect on the many change efforts I participated in, I shudder. I try to block it out. I avoid discussing it. There is an "activating" body memory (SE™ talk) for me that is associated with prescriptive change efforts. When I encounter a stimulus or trigger, like someone talking about a new protocol intended...
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The Traumatic Impact of Racism on Young People and How to Talk About It [Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg]
Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg (Keynote speaker from the recent Creating a Resilient Community Conference) shared the excerpt from his book Reaching Teens titled The Traumatic Impact of Racism on Young People and How to Talk About It. This is a valuable resource for anyone interacting with youth and we are providing the excerpt as an attachment here for you to read and share. Also, Dr. Ginsburg will be coming back to our community (virtually) and you’ll be invited to his workshop. Look out for the...
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LAUNCH Together Supports Social Emotional Well-Being in Southwest Denver
As the COVID-19 pandemic blurred from days into months, the leadership team of LAUNCH Together Southwest Denver began hearing about the sense of anguish and confusion felt by directors of early-childhood learning centers: Should I re-open? Is that financially feasible? Is it ethical? And how do I decide, in a sea of fast-changing information about a virus scientists are still struggling to understand? LAUNCH Together SW Denver, a collaborative formed in 2016 to boost community capacity to...
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Freedom From Trauma – Powerful & Profound Practices To Heal Trauma & Consciously Create The Body, Mind, Spirit You Truly Desire
We are living in complicated and stressful times. What needs to be healed seems more palpable than ever. It feels like the call to release what no longer serves has never been louder and we are feeling that tug at our core. While the founder of The League of Extraordinary People, Alfred White, has been gaining more clarity everyday on this, he was invited to be part of an event, more like a movement, to help others find freedom from what has been holding them back. It is a free, online...
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Register now for Bridging to Resilience virtual conference by the ESSDACK Resilience Team
Bridging to Resilience is a virtual conference to connect us with the ideas, strategies, tools, and people to help build resilience and heal trauma in our own communities. When: November 12-13 Where: Zoom virtual conferencing. Links to keynotes and sessions will be shared with registered participants before November 12. Cost: $99/person for 2 full days of virtual learning + 1 year of On-Demand access to all the sessions after the conference closes. Can't attend on November 12-13? No problem!
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The Power of Virtue in Trauma-Informed Education
Though we cannot fix or heal them, we likely do not even know who many of them are, we can empower them emotionally towards the possibility of their own potential.
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New Event! Strategies for Mending Our Wounds: Recovering from School Crisis through Art and Ritual
Supporting students, educators, school staff, and school-based clinicians to effectively implement trauma-informed crisis recovery and renewal strategies. January 7, 2021 9:30 a.m. PT – 12:30 p.m. PT / check start time in your time zone Participants eligible to receive up to 3 Continued Education Hours* Access the event flyer (PDF) here REGISTER TODAY! The School Crisis Recovery and Renewal (SCRR ) project is pleased to offer a half-day virtual institute for educators centered on sharing and...
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Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice (zinnedproject.org)
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Denisha Jones and Jesse Hagopian. 2020. This collection of writings offers lessons from successful challenges to institutional racism that have been won through the grassroots Black Lives Matter at School movement. Black Lives Matter at School offers the wisdom of lessons learned through the Black Lives Matter at School movement, which began at one school in 2016 and has since spread to hundreds of schools across the country. This book will inspire many hundreds...
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COVID Relief law creates a $82 billion Education Stabilization Fund for local schools and higher education institutions
While the 5,000-page $900 billion COVID Relief Bill ( H.R. 133, Div. M and N) fell short on some fronts (e.g., did not provide direct fiscal relief to cash-strapped states and localities), it does provide $82 billion in Education Stabilization Funds for states, school districts, and higher education institutions—crucial support for education as students return to school after the holiday. Funding of this magnitude makes a trauma-informed COVID response possible, giving advocates the...
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A Better Normal-Education Upended Returns 1/21!
Ever want to be able to message in one swoop what SEL, trauma-informed principles and practices, multi-tiered systems of support, and equity + anti-racism work have to do with one another? We do too. Join us this Thursday 1/21 from 12-1 PST as we dive into this meaty topic. We would appreciate your input, expertise, and collective wisdom as we endeavor to eventually create either a document and/or graphic visualization that achieves our goal. Register for the event with this link: ...
Ask the Community
Early Reader Chapter Book To Teach Kids Resilience: Milo and the Wisdom of the Sea
Greetings everyone, I'm wondering if you might be able to help me. I'm the author and creator of an early chapter book series. The first book, "Milo and the Wisdom of the Sea" has been published and on the market, while the other four books are in varying stages of production. I'm curious if you would have ideas for greater distribution: radio shows, email distribution lists, publishers etc. I have a social media presence including Twitter , a blog , YouTube channel etc. But, the work and...
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Now is the Time for Community Schools for All
Community schools have been an effective school improvement strategy for over a century, implemented in both urban and rural areas across the country -- yet many people have never heard of this dynamic approach to school design. Whole districts have invested in this model over the past several decades, from Oakland to New York City, from Duluth, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma. California recently approved $2.8 billion in the 2022 fiscal year budget for the implementation of community schools...
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Trauma-Responsive, Resilience Building Practices for Early Childhood Educators and Leaders [mhttcnetwork.org]
Trauma-Responsive and Resilience Building Practices for Early Childhood Educators (ECE), Leaders, Organizations, and Systems: A Three-Part Program Our region is excited to partner with the Center for Optimal Brain Integration (COBI) to provide a three-part virtual training series (an opening institute, a six-part community of practice, and a closing institute) for early childhood educators, organizations and system leaders. Join us as we deepen our advocacy for and increase trauma-informed...