Over 130 residents from across the San Francisco Bay Area representing education, health, and law enforcement attended the sold-out screening of Paper Tigers and panel on December 9 at the Brower Center in Berkeley, CA. The panel discussion was so involved it went 25 minutes longer than scheduled and spilled into the lobby where attendees talked until 10 pm!

The documentary Paper Tigers follows six students during a school year at Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA. Lincoln is the first high school in the U.S. to become trauma-informed.  

Panelists included Joyce Dorado, UCSF HEARTS; Jennifer Lynn-Whaley, Contra Costa County's Youth Justice Initiative; Barbara McClung, Oakland Unified School District; and Anh Ta, Bay Area Regional Trauma Transformed Center (T2). The panel was moderated by Jane Stevens, founder and publisher of the ACEs Connection Network, and emceed by Heather Gehlert, Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG).

After the film, during which many people shed tears, the panelists began their discussion by sharing some personal experiences that brought them to their work with trauma. Dorado told of how the support of her family helped her recover from childhood adversity. McClung spoke of how her sister’s suffering propelled her from rebelling into working to change the system. Ta talked about growing up in a poor refugee family, and how difficult it was experiencing being an outsider to culture and wealth.

When panelists were asked what they learned from the film, they included: the ways kids, not just adults, can benefit from understanding the brain science of chronic trauma; that behavior isn’t the kid, it’s a symptom of their experiences; and that relationships matter.

When asked what was left out of the film, the panelists unanimously cited adult self-care; how to do the work so it’s sustainable and replicable; response and investment from leadership (i.e. superintendent); parental support; and implicit bias.  

“Implicit bias starts when students see brown and black kids getting kicked out of class and punished for their life experiences,” said Lynn-Whaley. “There is a moral obligation, especially with kids of color, to break the cycle of punishment with options and resources.”

In response to how panelists are tackling the challenges in their trauma-informed work, Lynn-Whaley referenced the creation of “core teams and mindfulness practices for teachers,” as well as, “higher-level mental-health support for parents.” Through the Contra Costa Positive Youth Justice Initiative, school staff and community organizations are currently receiving training through the Sanctuary Institute in preparation for the roll-out of school wide trauma-informed approaches.

Through implementing restorative practices across the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) over the past ten years, McClung learned “they could spend all available resources on restorative practices for adults and never get to kids.”

They are currently working to set up a support system for teachers and school staff, with assistance from Dorado. “Principals and teachers aren’t trained in managing behavior; they need skills on how to engage students; they have to check their beliefs about behavior,” said McClung. Classroom-based behavioral-support specialists work with teachers in a “push for prevention” to “interrupt the pipeline” of elementary school kids getting funneled into special education classes based on behavior. Dorado and McClung most recently did a presentation for the OUSD leadership to generate additional buy-in on the expansion of trauma-informed approaches.

When asked by an audience member, “Where is this actually working?”, Dorado gave the example of El Dorado Elementary School in San Francisco, where everyone was impacted by the trauma of community violence, substandard housing, and racial inequities. Months of planning went into getting to know the school staff, kids, and families, to “think with them” and “not do things to them,” said Dorado.

The partnership was a multi-tiered process to implement universal supports -- social emotional skills, restorative practices, and equity. “As our friends in Washington State say: trauma-informed is the plate, not something to add to the plate,” said Dorado. Over the course of four years, referrals dropped 86 percent, the school eliminated expulsions, and the results were felt by all.

When asked “How do we change our culture of shame and punishment?”, Ta said, “We have to create a common language. Trauma needs to be addressed everywhere, not just schools.”

Ta and Dorado offered the T2 principles as a blueprint: “Safety and stability, compassion and dependability, collaboration and empowerment, cultural humility and responsiveness, resilience and recovery.”

The event was co-sponsored by BMSG and ACEs Connection and featured the release of the BMSG report, Talking about trauma: findings and opportunities from an analysis of news coverage.

Since its premiere at the Seattle Film Festival earlier this year, Paper Tigers has been screened in more than 250 venues across the U.S. 

Here are links to some of the articles about the screenings. You’ll see common themes throughout.

After watching a film about trauma’s effect on students, this is what we learned (The Seattle Times sponsored this screening.)

http://www.seattletimes.com/ed...-is-what-we-learned/

Film Documenting Success at Lincoln High Packs Cordin (1500 people attended this screening)

http://union-bulletin.com/news...n-high-packs-cordin/

U-46 Teachers To Address Students’ Stress Levels   http://www.dailyherald.com/art...1124/news/151129508/

Documentary Highlights The Struggles of Dealing With Trauma  http://www.lanthorn.com/articl...-dealing-with-trauma

Paper Tiger or Real Tiger? - The Times      http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/...real-tiger/8828.html

Paper Tiger Screening Tonight In FDL  http://www.kfiz.com/local-news...ening-tonight-in-fdl

Chalk Talk:  Invisible Tigers   http://www.frontiersman.com/sc...7c-ff812f3d8a74.html

http://www.postcrescent.com/st...eened-fvtc/75536488/

Leaders Form Regional Trauma Informed Community Network     http://www.dailyprogress.com/s...61-e75cf6e09854.html

Paper Tigers To Be Screened At FVTC      http://www.postcrescent.com/st...eened-fvtc/75536488/

How should Arizona schools approach childhood trauma?  http://azbigmedia.com/ab/arizo...ach-childhood-trauma