What To Do When The Kids Aren’t Alright

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What to do when the kids aren’t alright

By Ginger Christian, Megan Quinn and Virginia Foley

October 2022

In the aftermath of the acute phases of COVID-19, some schools are adopting trauma-informed, high-leverage practices to help educators and students cope with the psychological impact of the pandemic on learning. But given the scope of the pandemic’s devastation, scattershot approaches are not enough. We need systemic approaches to ensure that all educators and students can benefit from trauma-informed approaches. East Tennessee State University and Unicoi County Schools recognized the value of developing and sustaining a partnership to build strategies and leadership capacity for trauma-informed systems. Seeing the need for professional learning, coaching, and assessment tools, the professors and researchers at the Strong Brain Institute and Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Department developed a five-year strategic partnership with the school district. Through this partnership, we

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Ginger Christian

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Ginger Christian is an assistant professor at East Tennessee State University for the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Department. Originally a special educator, she has experience in elementary, middle, and high school administration and champions opportunities for innovation, school leadership, and P-20 redesign. As an elementary principal, she facilitated a partnership with the University of Tennessee focused on trauma-informed practices resulting in a TN State Gold Level of Model School Designation. She specializes in leading organizational systemic changes grounded in implementing Resilient Systems and believes school and university collaboration is the fuel for innovation to occur.