Trauma in Schools #14 — Making a Paradigm Shift to Address Trauma in Schools

We prepare students to leave high school into a broken system. This situation can only change by answering two questions:

> When students graduate, what do we want them to be able to do with their knowledge and skills as they confront uncertainty in our complex and rapidly evolving world.

> How do we help students develop a sense of purpose and meaning, so that they feel they can have a positive impact in life?

Guest Mathew Portell explains what it means to have a trauma-informed school.

administrators, fundamentals, View all postsJeff IklerDecember 14, 2021Season 1

Trauma in Schools #12 — Collaborating to Address Student Mental Health

All educators — all school staff — need to see themselves as part of a formal or informal mental health network whose members routinely collaborate to support sound student mental health. But they need to be supported by mental health practitioners and parents to provide the widest possible safety net for students. Martha Staeheli, Ph.D., explains.

mental health providers, administrators, View all postsJeff IklerDecember 7, 2021Season 1

Trauma in Schools #9 — Human-centered Routines that Create the Psychologically Safe School

Students need to be in a psychologically safe place or they will be significantly challenged to engage that part of the brain that supports learning. That belief underscores why more and more schools are focusing on social and emotional learning, and developing trauma-informed instruction. It underscores the critical role schools must play in partnership with parents and outside mental health providers to support students in need. And some of that support must recognize that students who have operated remotely simply aren’t used to being students in the physical setting of the classroom. School psychologist Dr. Terri Erbacher explains.

mental health providers, administrators, View all postsJeff IklerNovember 22, 2021Season 1

Trauma in Schools #8 — Moving from Visioning to Conversation to Action

A forum that facilitates conversations among school communities can help to establish a plan for a better future while working in the present. Constant discussion helps leaders learn new methods, update their vision, and address the current implications of trauma-informed learning. Paul Liabenow and Mike Domagalski of the Michigan Elementary Middle School Principals Association explain the imperative to move from a strong vision, to conversation, to action of behalf of today’s traumatized students.

fundamentals, administrators, View all postsJeff IklerNovember 18, 2021Season 1

Trauma in Schools #7 — Implicit Bias, Racism, and Discrimination

When we think of the trauma that students carry with them into school, we often think of the ten adverse childhood experiences identified through research more than 30 years ago. We now know that exposure to bias, racism, discrimination, and unsafe communities are also drivers of student trauma. Building student resilience requires us to have courageous conversations that address those causes as well. Educator Orinthia Harris Ph.D. explains.

teachers, administrators, View all postsJeff IklerNovember 16, 2021Season 1