Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
Trauma-informed practices: Building teachers’ and students’ resilience in stressful times
Presenters: Ginger Christian, Kevin Graham, Sue Kim and Victoria E. Romero
Levels of stress and trauma are high in schools, affecting student behavior, academic learning, school culture, and more. But the signs of trauma aren’t always easy to recognize or address. This webinar will explore the impact of stress and adverse life experiences and explain how building educators’ use of trauma-informed practice can lead to benefits for all students and staff.
Participants of this webinar will:
- Learn about how trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences affect learning and behavior;
- Understand what trauma-informed practice is and why it benefits all students;
- Learn how districts are helping teachers and staff learn about and implement trauma-informed practices;
- Explore a systemic framework for implementing universal trauma-informed practice; and
- Discover steps to make schools more trauma-sensitive and restorative.
Additional resources:
Presenters
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.
Kevin Graham is the principal of Unicoi County Middle School in Erwin, TN. He has 21 years of experience as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, and principal. During his principalship, Unicoi County Middle School partnered with organizations such as East Tennessee State University and Ballad Health to develop and implement strategies for improving school culture, student engagement, mental health, and academic outcomes.
Sue Kim is a doctoral candidate in School Psychology at the University of Western Ontario. As a former MindUP project manager at the Centre for School Mental Health, she oversaw the implementation and evaluation of MindUP, a mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program, within a trauma-informed framework at the London District Catholic School Board. Her current research interests include teacher well-being, trauma-informed practices, students' resilience, and compassion-focused therapy.
Victoria E. Romero has been an elementary teacher, principal, and school improvement coach. She has facilitated professional development on strategies for social-emotional growth and academic achievement, systems that create optimal teaching and learning environments, and infusing multiple perspectives into the classroom. She is the lead author of Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole-Staff Approach and Race Resilience: Achieving Equity Through Self and Systems Transformation. She manages a website, buildingresilienceinstudents.com, that shares resources for staff on-the-job wellness and transformational pedagogy.
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