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ITEMS:
1. Shared Staff Meeting - Tuesday 3:00 in the middle school gallery
2. As everyone is aware, the middle school merger question will be discussed and decided on this coming Wednesday. I understand that this can be very stressful for many. Please see me with questions or comments - I will do my best to answer or to talk to you about your thoughts.
3. I will be out of the building on Wednesday morning and later in the afternoon. I have a personal appointment on Wednesday morning and a central office meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
4. Reminder - TA spirit days are Fridays.... This coming Friday is Sport team Friday (I think) and next Friday is ugly sweater day! Jen is planning a ginger bread house making project.. and much much more.. I will send out a more detailed date/activity list soon.
4. Trauma-Informed Schooling
In this article in Education Week, Jim Hickman (Center for Youth Wellness) and Kathy Higgins (Alliance for a Healthier Generation) say that a lot of students’ restlessness and acting-out behavior in classrooms stems from highly disturbing experiences at home: abuse, neglect, abandonment, divorce, witnessing violence, parental addiction, and more. Students with toxic stress have abnormal levels of certain hormones, which changes brain architecture and makes it more difficult to “do school.” Toxic stress can also lead to asthma and diabetes and, later in life, heart disease and cancer.
“But the science also tells us that two things are clear,” say Hickman and Higgins: “Early intervention improves outcomes, and safe, stable, nurturing relationships can be healing for children. With nearly 35 million children across the country at risk for toxic stress, what if the person giving the biggest daily dose of healing treatment for toxic stress isn’t a doctor or a therapist, but a teacher?”
Fortunately, children’s brains are highly malleable and certain low- and no-cost school conditions can “rewire” students’ brains for better human connections and feelings of trust and security. (Of course in some situations, traumatic events at home require immediate intervention.)
• Sensitize all adults in the school. “Trauma-informed teaching is less about following a checklist than adopting a new way of doing business as a school,” say Hickman and Higgins. Shared values include safety, trust, collaboration, choice, empowerment, and equity.
• Nurture long-term, secure relationships with students. These support academic, cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development and help overcome trauma.
• Emphasize belonging and safety. Something as simple as greeting students at the door every day helps develop these feelings.
• Carve out one-on-one time. A few moments of private time with a teacher or counselor communicates caring and soothes students.
• Create “safe” corners in classrooms. There kids can take a break and regroup, which is especially important for those who are frequently triggered to a fight-or-flight reaction.
• Be predictable. This means sticking to the daily schedule – and also adults’ smiles and calm and consistent vocal rhythms.
• Attend to nutrition and movement. “Study after study shows that healthy students perform better on tests, attend school more often, and behave better in class,” say Hickman and Higgins. Schools can make a big contribution by providing healthy food and regular recess and physical education classes.
• Prompt empathetic verbal interactions. Signs on classroom walls can encourage “talk moves” like What do you think? and I heard you say X – can you explain that?
• Encourage curiosity. Getting students to use stems like I wonder… and I notice… helps engage them with others and reveals gaps in their knowledge and relationships.
• Teach and model social-emotional skills. Most SEL programs include ways that students can name emotions, calm themselves, work out conflicts, and practice mindfulness.
“10 Simple Steps for Reducing Toxic Stress in the Classroom” by Jim Hickman and Kathy Higgins in Education Week, November 27, 2019 (Vol. 39, #14, p. 19), https://bit.ly/2LaVjBS; Hickman can be reached at info@centerforyouthwellness.org.
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