Friday Focus
February 15, 2019
Green Township Park
Retentions
Aaron Update
Physical Education
Voting
Stop the Bleed Kits
Monday Meeting
Round Up
Reading Leadership Team
Is “Trauma-Informed” Just the New Buzz Word?
Below is an article from the latest Indiana Association of School Principals publication
So, where do we go from here? Find resources! Here are two of my favorite! The book, Help for Billy, has become widely used in school districts and within professional development efforts. This book provides a comprehensive look at the steps schools can take to understand and align strategies that address the needs. Here’s a quote from the author, Heather T. Forbes, LCSW:
“We live in a world that is different than it was fifty years ago, even twenty years ago. As a result, we are teaching different children in the classroom than in the past. Additionally, neuroscience has advanced remarkably to give us a deeper understanding of the brain. When we can understand the brain, we can understand our children because of this basic concept: The brain derives behavior.”
Dr. Lori Desautels, author and professor at Butler University, has also done a great deal of work in the area of neuroscience. She constantly strives to develop strategies that align regulation skills with real brain-based strategies. You can find Dr. Desautels on Facebook, Ted Talks, and she also has a blog. She is also the author of several books, and has been a featured speaker at our IASP fall conference. She is a wealth of information and regularly works with schools and educators…..she truly walks the talk!
Plan…..for kids AND for adults!
One of the most important things to keep in mind as you develop trauma-informed strategies is that our efforts must focus on adult response, every bit as much as we teach kids coping strategies. In fact, most instances of students being unable to regulate have a great deal to do with how adults respond. Just as you might spend time planning step-by-step professional development to teach and reinforce a new curriculum or computer program, trauma informed care should be an ongoing and very intentional plan. It goes beyond meetings and training sessions. It goes further than articles and study groups. The true impact can only be realized through establishing a true culture of support and compassion. Contrary to what some may say, this does not mean an environment absent of accountability and expectations; however it does require that the adults are first and foremost all about CARING about kids.
Embrace the reality!
Whether or not you are like me and believe that trauma-informed schools are essential to the success of our children, it IS our reality. Learn about the strategies, start conversations, and ask questions. I think you will find that not only will you be able to impact students previously perceived as just “difficult,” you will be able to truly understand their learning needs. You may also find out a bit about yourself in the process! As always, contact us for other resources, contacts, and opportunities to grow your own knowledge base of this subject! We are here to serve! I wish you all a wonderful February and may you all keep the LOVE for our profession infused into all that you do!
Valerie's Vision
Notes of Encouragement
A few weeks ago, Mrs. Bays and I visited John Strange Elementary School and had a discussion with a staff member on how she builds relationships with students.
We all know relationship building is essential in order to allow our students to simply be in the right state of mind to learn.
This staff member shared that she makes a goal of handwriting two post it notes a day and place them on two students desks.
These notes share specific observations and help improve a child’s self worth.
(Think less: “Good job in math today!” Think more: “Zac- I noticed you were listening carefully in class. Thank you for taking initiative of your learning”. ) It is a proven fact that notes written by hand leave more of an impact than anything that is in text. This is more personalized.
Many times our students who need the most relationship building tie emotionally charged words like “good job” or “I'm so proud of you” to the teacher preferring one student more than another. It is important for us to “notice” when students are following expectations in the classroom to help build classroom management and expectations. Often we would hear the teacher at John Strange Elementary say, "I notice you! I notice how you are sitting quietly and waiting. I notice how you are focused on your task. I notice how nice you were to the person sitting next to you."
This week, I encourage you to write two notes a day to students in your room or small groups and see if it makes a difference. Sometimes our students that resist us the most are the students that are the most in need of positive relationships.
"To be noticed is to be loved."- Ali Smith