Four years ago, Mary Catryn D. Ricker of the Shanker Institute and David Osher of AIR collaborated on the introduction to a book, Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools. Their introduction shared six practical, science-based principles that not only ground the book, but also speak to the current crises in education. These six principles are integral Read more about Creating Safe, Equitable, and Engaging Schools[…]
Over the past year, extended school closures caused by Covid-19 have wreaked havoc on our nation’s students. Thousands have lost parents, grandparents, and family friends to the virus. Children and teenagers have suffered from a lack of routines and extracurricular activities and the inability to see their friends and classmates. Their moms and dads have Read more about Addressing students’ mental health needs coming out of the pandemic[…]
Eric Nentrup, writing for Getting Smart, reviews Turnaround Children’s new tiered support toolkit for educators who are supporting children and families in crisis. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Turnaround Children recently released a tiered support system action pack that takes advanced learning science and makes it accessible for educators to respond to the crises Read more about Responding to Crisis With A Tiered Support System[…]
For many students, the COVID-19 pandemic is compounding traumatic experiences for diverse reasons, such as potential increased incidents of neglect, abuse, and isolation. At the same time, educators are limited in how they can support their students while schools are closed. REL Appalachia (REL AP) has been working with key stakeholders from the region in Read more about 5 Things Educators Can Do Virtually to Support Students Experiencing Trauma[…]
A new two-page policy outline from Education Commission of the States serves as an introduction to trauma-informed practices, as defined in state education policy. Trauma-informed practices intersect with school discipline, student health, educator training, school safety, and more. There are four categories of recent state policy action, including Educator and School Staff Training, Task Forces/Committees, Read more about Education Policy Approaches to Trauma-Informed Practices[…]
Each year in the United States, 46 million children are exposed to violence, crime, abuse, homelessness, or food insecurity, as well as a range of other experiences that cause psychological trauma. These experiences create toxic stress that can affect children’s attention, learning, and behavior. Research on human development shows that the effects of such trauma Read more about Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success[…]
Most teens see anxiety and depression as “major problems” among their peers, according to a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. It suggests that 7 in 10 teens ages 13 to 17 think those issues are more prevalent than bullying, drug addiction, drinking alcohol, poverty, teen pregnancy and gangs. Concern about mental health Read more about Anxiety and Depression as this Generation’s Major Problem[…]
Despite the pervasive effect of traumatic experiences on student performance,only 11 states encourage or require school staff training on the effects of trauma. Half of states have policies on suicide prevention. And just one state, Vermont, requires a school nurse to be available daily at every school campus. Those are among the key findings of Read more about Few States Have Policies to Fully Address Student Trauma[…]
Rates of childhood trauma in the United States are alarmingly high, with exposure to potentially traumatic forms of violence, such as abuse, assault, or family or community violence particularly common. Traumatic experiences and chronic stress can overwhelm a child’s system and negatively impact development and learning. As educators, however, we can help students recover from Read more about February Issue Brief: Trauma-Informed Teaching[…]
Recently in the New York Times, David Brooks wrote a column about the importance of emotion in learning. Excerpts from his piece appear below: We used to have this top-down notion that reason was on a teeter-totter with emotion. If you wanted to be rational and think well, you had to suppress those primitive gremlins, Read more about Putting Relationships at the Core[…]
How can schools better align their practices with what science says about human learning? A new video series of 20+ videos from Edutopia, featuring Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of Learning Policy Institute, and Pamela Cantor, MD, founder and senior science advisor of Turnaround for Children, pairs research insights with a variety of illustrative strategies Read more about How Learning Happens Video Series[…]
Schools play a significant role in supporting the health and well-being of children and youth, including those affected by traumatic experiences. In a trauma-sensitive school, all aspects of the educational environment—from workforce training to engagement with students and families to procedures and policies—are grounded in an understanding of trauma and its impact and are designed Read more about Leading Trauma-Sensitive Schools[…]
In the latest video from Turnaround partner Digital Promise’s Research@Work series, Turnaround for Children Founder and Senior Science Advisor Pamela Cantor, M.D.explains how childhood trauma impacts the developing brain, learning and development. Dr. Cantor shares that while traumatic experiences and prolonged stress can have harmful effects, because the brain is malleable, there are many opportunities Read more about Video: How Schools can Support Students who have Experienced Trauma[…]
To close achievement gaps, education leaders must adopt more complete approaches to outstanding learning for all, secure and healthy learners, and a culture of equity within low- and moderate-poverty schools. A shortfall in any of these three areas within a school magnifies the impact of unequal access to resources-educational, personal, and sociopolitical-outside of school. In Read more about Outstanding Learning for All, Secure & Healthy Learners, and Culture of Equity[…]