Tagged With "resilient communities"
Blog Post
Alternative Schools Network in Chicago Takes on Youth Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Click here to read the full article on the ASN website The Alternative Schools Network (ASN) Youth Resilience Project is an initiative that grew from the collective desire to develop and provide additional clinical resources for ASN Network schools. The Youth Resilience Project is dedicated to the cause of bringing knowledge, awareness, and support to schools around issues associated with youth trauma. Spreading the knowledge of trauma and its impacts on youth development became a mission of...
Blog Post
An Alternative to Suspension with Trauma-Informed Dynamic Mindfulness: Building Stress Resilience, Emotion Regulation and Empathy
At the November 2019 Northern California Safe and Healthy Schools Conference at UC Berkeley, Niroga Program Managers Sam Weiss and Fatima Ahmed facilitated a session incorporating the theory and practice of Dynamic Mindfulness (DMind) to a standing room only crowd.
Blog Post
An Interview with Alfonso Ramirez on Trauma Informed Schools
In 2016, the Oregon School-Based Health Alliance (OSBHA) worked to pass a bill to pilot trauma informed schools and funds were allocated to support two pilot schools, Tigard High School (THS) in Tigard, OR and Central High School (CHS) in Independence, OR. This is the third year of the pilot. OSBHA has been providing technical assistance to the two schools, working closely with the Trauma Informed Schools Coordinators’ hired to transform the schools. Alfonso Ramirez is the coordinator at...
Blog Post
Are you a Resilience Champion in your school?
Spring is the time for rebirth and new beginnings! After some much needed rest, we go back to the classroom for the last few months with our students. At Origins, we have been lucky enough to host a number of teachers (and their teams) just like you who want the best for the students and for the school. Their success starts with you! After completing the first round of The Resilience Champion Certificate of 2018, we have 23 graduates putting their action plans to work. Some settings that...
Blog Post
Attention Teachers! Resilience from a Brave Deaf Girl (Trauma & Recovery)
This story is based on my dear friend Opal Fleming born in 1931. I promised her before she died that I would get her story published. She wanted children to know about the schools for the Deaf and how American Sign Language became a well-known language today by being passed on by other Deaf people. Opal was taken to the Oklahoma School for the Deaf by her father after he had learned about the school from a young Deaf man he had met on a train. The young man explained how he learned to read...
Blog Post
OPRAH AND “60 MINUTES” ON CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
Oprah does a great job emphasizing the change required to the perspective of adults in the way we try to understand — from the old, judgmental “What’s wrong with you?” to the more appropriate, insightful and caring question “What happened to you?”
Blog Post
Ordinary Magic-Resiliency Research - The Power of Connection
Resilience and Positive Psychology The message from three decades of research on resilience underscores central themes of the positive psychology movement (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Snyder & Lopez, in press). Psychology has neglected important phenomena in human adaptation and development during periods of focus on risk, problems, pathology, and treatment. Attention to human capabilities and adaptive systems that promote healthy development and functioning have the potential...
Blog Post
Parent, Educator, and Student Resources - FREE
We have started, and are adding to daily, a free resource page for teachers, educators, parents, and students. It is filled with activities, educational & behavioral resources, and more. These are gathered from around the internet and my own stuff as well. We are offering daily tips, tools, and projects through our FB page linked here . The big message is all about Collective Resilience - Together We Rise. Be sure to like our FB pageso you can get notified when we put new stuff up!
Blog Post
Positive Discipline in the Classroom Workshop- Apr 2 - May 7
"I love how interactive this workshop is and how open and honest we were allowed to be. I felt respected as an educator and human, and I feel empowered and encouraged..." Elementary School Teacher This Positive Discipline in the Classroom 5-week workshop gives educators tools to create a classroom and school environment where students feel encouraged and engaged in learning, solve their own friendship issues, and feel a sense of connection and value. As an educator you will feel a sense of...
Blog Post
Creating School Level Resiliency Teams
RESILIENCY TEAM TRAINING Cape May & Atlantic County School Districts- Southern NJ Applied Educational Neuroscience, the Brain and Adversity- “Stressed Brains Do Not Learn” Purpose: To provide training for school level teams on the latest research and strategies concerning Educational Neuroscience, the Brain, Stress and Adversity. To create school level “turnkey” teams focusing on the skills and organizational components necessary to create trauma sensitive AND trauma responsive...
Blog Post
Dear Teacher
Dear Teacher I remember you and I would imagine you remember me well. I am your student. We have shared space for many years yet have never come to know one another. Although I have known you over twenty years and spent more time with you than even my closest friends and family, our relationship has remained transactional, tense, contentious and at times violent. We have cursed, threatened and insulted each other, I have thrown chairs and spat at you and you have restrained me multiple...
Blog Post
Developing Community Resilience During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Educators, I know many of you understand the important role strong families and communities play in the lives of your students. Ideas are included below to develop community resilience that, ultimately, support your students in the process. I have been fielding requests about community resilience development and want to share with all of you a document that others are finding helpful. I initially created the document (below and pdf attached) for our host entities to distribute to the cohorts...
Blog Post
Do’s and Don’ts of a Trauma-Informed Compassionate Classroom
The summer break is upon us and right now parents and teachers are taking a much-deserved deep breath before jumping into the new school year. One of the programs Echo provides each summer is the salary point Trauma-Informed Compassionate Classrooms training to help educators meet their professional development requirements and to give them the space to think about the classroom environment they would optimally like to create while not yet inundated with the day-to- day demands of the school...
Blog Post
Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
Blog Post
Homework: Moving Toward Compassionate, Trauma-Informed Schools
It was the little red trauma-informed schoolhouse. Katherine Wickersham-Wade, the Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax (Chickaloon Village) clan grandmother who started the Ya Ne Dah Ah School , Alaska’s first Tribally operated school in 1992, might not have used that language. But she did envision a school that would wrap its students in Native ancestral traditions and Ahtna language, instill self-confidence and repair some of the damage inflicted by historical trauma—the disruptions to culture and...
Blog Post
Setting the Tone for a Mindful School
From ACSD Express Setting the Tone for September August 23, 2018 | Volume 13 | Issue 24 Table of Contents Setting the Tone for a Mindful School John Jimno and Bidyut K. Bose A Principal's Story: As I (John) prepared to leave at the end of a long school day, a student I'll call "Carl" came running toward me across the asphalt, clearly upset and in tears. Shortly after, another student whom I'll call "Ron" came tearing across the yard in our direction. Ron was frequently referred to my office...
Blog Post
Superkid Power Guidebook
In Southern Oregon, Janai Mestrovich, MS, Early Learning & Child Development, labels her curriculum Empowering Superkids. The focus is on pre-K and Kindergarten kids and teaching them to know her/himself and tap inner resources of mind/body/emotions/breathing and have skills to make good choices and feel like a SUPERKID. Teaching self awareness, self respect and communication/collaboration are essential towards resiliency. Janai has developed and taught the Superkid Guidebook over a 40...
Blog Post
Teaching self awareness and stress recognition to kids age 4-6
Janai Mestrovich (BS/MS, Family & Child Development), teacher and developer of 'Superkid Power' (Ashland, OR) passed this along to me regarding how she uses finger activated mood card to measure temperature and kid stress levels: 40 Pre-K children learned how to measure their stress level this morning by measuring hand temp. with mood cards. Blue, happy-peaceful-very calm; Green, calm; Red, tight muscles/upset; Black Tense/grit teeth. We chanted and drummed appropriately - tense drumming...
Blog Post
Teaching students the art of self-reflection by measuring their heart rate under 3 different circumstances
This year I came up with an effective strategy using an app on my iPhone. I have been working with 3-6 graders showing them how their heart rate tells a story about how they are feeling in response to external stimuli. I show them through a series of three experiments which measure their heart rate under three different circumstances.
Blog Post
The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...
Blog Post
The Developing Brain & Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Thanks to an explosion in scientific research now possible with imaging technologies, such as fMRI and SPECT, experts can actually see how the brain develops. This helps explain why exposure to adverse childhood experiences can so deeply influence and change a child's brain and thus their physical and emotional health and quality of life across their lifetime. The above time-lapse study was conducted over 10 years. The darker colors represent brain maturity (brain development). I have added...
Blog Post
Moama Anglican Grammar School [www.weeklytimenow.com.au]
This school in New South Wales, Australia is building resilience, emotional wellness, and stress management skills starting in Kindergarten and continuing through grade 12! Moama Anglican Grammar School The Weekly Times August 14, 2016 9:00am “AT MOAMA Anglican Grammar we recognise the importance of the connection between mental health and learning,” said Libby Barnes, head of pastoral care at the young co-educational school. The school, on the Murray River north of Echuca, strives to help...
Blog Post
Now available: recording of Chris Blodgett's talk on trauma-informed communities
Dr. Chris Blodgett spoke on Thursday, Nov 3rd at the Anchorage Loussac Library to a room of nearly 140 people and 60 more online. His talk "From ACEs to Action: How Communities Can Improve Well-Being and Resilience" was approximately two hours long. Access the webinar video, audio file, and slides here.
Blog Post
Nurturing Children During Times of Stress: A Guide to Help Children Bloom by Yolo CAPC and YCCA
The Yolo County Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) and Yolo County Children’s Alliance (YCCA) are excited to share Nurturing Children During Times of Stress: A Guide to Help Children Bloom. This guide for parents and caregivers, which we are launching during Child Abuse Prevention Month, contains tips and resources that parents and caregivers can use to promote resilience in their children and themselves. Nurturing Children During Times of Stress explains the effects of intense stress or...
Blog Post
Building Resilience in Challenging Times 2 Day virtual mini-conference.
Click here for details or download the attached flyer. https://www.eventbrite.com/x/building-resilient-students-in-a-pandemic-and-ti-special-education-programs-tickets-104769793272
Blog Post
Burnout Risk for In-Prison Educators Could Jeopardize Programs for Incarcerated Students
Sustaining Futures will strengthen education programs for incarcerated individuals by training California Community College faculty and staff on trauma and resilience.
Blog Post
Kids Artwork - The Key to Communications & Goal Setting
Crayons can do wonders. Not just to make colorful rainbows and unicorns but as a vital tool used for communication between students and between the student and their teachers and parents. Janai Mestrovich (BS/MS, Family & Child Development, Ashland, OR) incorporates kid art into her SuperKid Power curriculum. Here are several examples from the kids (pre-K and Kindergarten) reflecting goals the kids said they were thinking about or that concerned them. in the first example, a young boy...
Blog Post
The Importance of Physical Activities, Yoga, and Mindful Based Practices for Young Children
The topic of this blog post is the importance of physical activity for children. In terms of physical activity, I chose to focus on yoga practice for young children. I believe that children are a big part of our society and their health is a reflection of their surroundings, which is why children’s health is so important. I researched three unique and professional studies that show how yoga builds resilience, self-awareness, self-image, self-esteem, quality of life, and dramatically reduces...
Comment
Re: Burnout Risk for In-Prison Educators Could Jeopardize Programs for Incarcerated Students
How can I learn more about the Communities of Practice trainings in San Diego: where, when?
Comment
Re: Burnout Risk for In-Prison Educators Could Jeopardize Programs for Incarcerated Students
Dr. Felitti, thank you, I have replied directly to your query.
Comment
Re: JK TIP K-12 (1 page)
Thank you for asking. There are tiered costs depending on the trainer, location and number of staff. If you either provide your email or email me optimalbrainintegration@gmail.com we can chat about your community needs. We don't yet have online modules but that will be coming soon.
Calendar Event
The Regulated Classroom: Camp for Educators
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Trauma Informed Schools projects show early and dramatic positive impacts
This Oregon School Boards Association article details testimony from two trauma informed schools pilot projects in Oregon. Here is the article .
Blog Post
What Happened to Eric and Josh? Lessons From ‘Resilience’ on Achieving a Whole-Child Focus in Educator Preparation [EdPrepMatters.net]
Sandra M. Chafouleas, a professor in the University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education, reflects on the film "Resilience" and how it can help encourage new and veteran educators to use a "whole-child" lens to support students and their families.
Blog Post
When Tragedy Strikes: Community Response and Recovery by Michele Gay, Co-Founder of Safe and Sound Schools: A Sandy Hook Initiative
Join Michele Gay at the 2017 Resilience Summit in Chicago, October 16-18. Michele Gay is the co-founder and executive director of Safe and Sound: A Sandy Hook Initiative. Following the tragic loss of her daughter, Josephine, in the Sandy Hook School tragedy, Michele joined Sandy Hook mother Alissa Parker to establish Safe and Sound Schools as a national resource for school safety. Michele's presentation will include: Specific knowledge and awareness of the needs for school community in...
Calendar Event
3RD ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL RESILIENCE CONFERENCE
Calendar Event
ACEs and Resilience - Youth, Schools and Substance Use
Comment
Re: The Regulated Classroom: Camp for Educators
Hi, Emily. Would this event be appropriate for college teachers? Thank you!
Comment
Re: The Regulated Classroom: Camp for Educators
Hi Andrew, Yes, absolutely! This training is suitable for any educator - as it's about combating compassion fatigue and bolstering self-regulation and nervous system resilience. I hope this helps... Emily
Comment
Re: The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
We do similar work - and our experience is that it is easier to move away from punishments than to move away from rewards...and both cause some harm. What is your experience in helping folks move away from rewards?
Comment
Re: The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Hi Rebecca, tell me if students have any codes of conduct and discipline policies to follow in the schools?.
Comment
Re: The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Sajjad, Our schools have expectations and classrooms have student generated guidelines (which look very similar to adult generated guidelines). The difference is that when someone doesn't follow the guidelines the response is: regulate, relate, reason and then repair the mistake. Of course, safety always comes first which can require removal from the situation (or sometimes even the school) - but the repair is what re-establishes connection and helps reconstruct the community. This is what...
Comment
Re: The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Jody thanks for the prompt response to my question. We used rewards as for both tangible and intangible since last couple of years. Its particularly challenging for problem kids, but its an incentive to get them to do their work, get along better, and make the right choices. I personally feel that sometimes starting with something the student likes to do, rather than giving them something may be a better reward for them. We have to workout as how to help folks move away from rewards.
Comment
Re: The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Sajjad, The frame shift that I think needs to happen is the recognition that these students are not "making choices" when their behavior is inappropriate. As Mona Delahooke explains, it is bottom up behavior. We aren't teaching anything with rewards. When students are self regulated they can choose. When they aren't they cannot. It ends up being demoralizing for kids to tell them to make "good choices" and they do when they can - and when they can't and mess up and later get back into their...
Comment
Re: The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Jody, I really appreciate the way you have explained as how to help folks move away from rewards. I will share the ideas within the local community and see if it works.