Use trauma-informed strategies to give students the skills and support they need to succeed in school and life

Nearly half of all children have been exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE), such as poverty, divorce, neglect, homelessness, substance abuse, domestic violence, or parent incarceration. These students often enter school with behaviors that don't blend well with the typical school environment. How can a school community come together and work as a whole to establish a healthy social-emotional climate for students and the staff who support them?

This workbook-style resource shows K-12 educators how to make a whole-school change, where strategies are integrated from curb to classroom. Readers will learn how to integrate trauma-informed strategies into daily instructional practice through expanded focus on:

• The different experiences and unique challenges of students impacted by ACEs in urban, suburban, and rural schools, including suicidal tendencies, cyberbullying, and drugs
• Behavior as a form of communication and how to explicitly teach new behaviors
• How to mitigate trauma and build innate resiliency through a read, reflect, and respond model

Let this book be the tool that helps your teams move students away from the school-to-prison pipeline and toward a life rich with educational and career choices.

"I cannot think of a book more needed than this one. It gives us the tools to support our students who have the most need while practicing the self-care necessary to continue to serve them."
-Lydia Adegbola, Chair of English Department
New Rochelle High School, NY

"This book highlights the impact of trauma on children and the adults who work with them, while providing relevant and practical strategies to understand and address it through reflective practices."
-Marine Avagyan, Director, Curriculum and Instruction
Saugus Union School District, Sunland, CA




About the Author
Victoria Romero is an educator with over 42 years of experience working as a classroom teacher, principal, and leadership coach. She continues to coach administrators, directors, principals, vice principals, and school leadership teams for equity and sustainable school improvement in three school districts in Washington. Victoria is a certified consultant and lead author of two Corwin Press books, "Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole Staff Approach" (2018) and "Race Resilience: Achieving Equity Through Self and Systems Transformation" (2021). Both books focus on the impact of traumatization as it relates to social-emotional needs of students as well as how to create school cultures that foster resilience. In her more recent work, Victoria provides guidance to school staff in engaging in authentic dialogue about how racialization and racial positioning influences perceptions, behaviors, expectations, and decisions. Her guiding framework emphasizes that systems will change when the people working in them change. Ricky Robertson is a consultant and coach who assists schools in developing trauma-informed systems and Restorative Practices. Previously, he taught high school in one of New York City's most diverse districts, where he used strategies from John Hattie, Nancy Frey, and Doug Fisher, improving students' passing rates on state math assessments from 55% to over 90%. As an advocate for racial equity, he created partnerships to provide learning and employment opportunities for under-served students. Ricky holds a teaching credential (K-12 Special Education) and Washington State school administrator certification, and has experience as a teacher, Behavior Specialist, and coach. Amber N. Warner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with over 20 years of experience. She has had the privilege of serving as a community outreach case manager (4 years), school social worker (8 years), medical social worker (5 years) , and behavioral health therapist (3 years). As a School Social Worker, in addition to her work with children and their families, she was part of the school wide Modern Red School House Leadership Team and the Positive Behavior Interventions and Systems Team. She facilitated K-6 monthly classroom discussions utilizing Second Step and Character Counts curriculums. Amber is also a co-author of Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole Staff Approach. In 2011 Amber worked in healthcare and part of the organization's leadership team, she was introduced to the work of Dr. Bryan Sexton on healthcare providers' staggering burnout rates and the healing proponents of Positive Psychology. A new passion and interest developed for her. She became a Certified Duke Patient Safety Officer in 2013 at Duke University's Patient Safety Center. Amber has also studied under the direction of Dr. David Burns, leading Psychiatrist, and adjunct professor at Stanford University and the developer of TEAM a new form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the treatment of depression and anxiety. She has achieved Level 2 TEAM certification from the Feeling Good Institute. She has a certification from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth in Trauma-Informed Care. Most of all, Amber has a passion for people, their wellness, and quality of life. She currently resides in California. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, Inferno Pilates, learning new things, traveling, community service, attending church, and an occasional new pair of shoes.

Reviews

"I cannot think of a book as needed as this one. It provides educators with a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma on the educational experiences of young people, and it also gives us tools to support our students who have the most need while practicing necessary self-care to continue to serve them."

-- Lydia Adegbola

"How many times has an educator flown on a plane and been reminded to first put on his or her own oxygen mask before assisting others? As many times as we have heard this directive, we may not have reflected upon its importance to us. This book provides a wealth of research, resources, and tools to assist any school or district in accomplishing its mission to reach all students and to recognize the impact that ACEs have, first upon the student, but also upon the educator who is likely dealing with the 'fallout' of each student's experiences. Never have I seen such a comprehensive book that provides both research and potential solutions in the form of systems and approaches. This is a must read for all educators!"

-- Lynn Lisy-Macan

"Adequately covering the content is one thing, but actually relating the material to all of us who work in education by providing stories makes this book even more meaningful and powerful. Whether you are a superintendent or a custodian, Building Resilience in Children Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences is impactful and will change the way you view ACEs."

-- Dustin Johnson

"This entire book helps readers understand that kids may not be victims, but they are equally traumatized when they see things happening to those around them. It demonstrates that second-hand trauma does indeed exist. It goes a step further and has the reader analyze how he or she would react and how to go about creating a plan of action and then reviewing the plan. How can we go any further if we don't look at our interventions? This is a practical book that educators needed yesterday. Using it equips school counselors, nurses, social workers, and teachers with the knowledge and tools to help children through trauma."

-- Delsia Malone

"This book is very important and relevant for practitioners. This is a topic that is so important right now-there are many children who struggle because of early traumatic experiences and act out in the classroom-and there are few resources to help a classroom teacher understand and instruct them. This book includes strategies that a school can take to meet these challenges and help to make life and learning better for these students. In a so-called 'regular classroom' those challenges are possibly fewer in number, but they are still there-students with ACEs are in all classrooms, and the approach advocated by the book's authors is very useful to teachers."

-- Rebecca Rupert

"This book addresses a critical area of need in today's society, which spills over into our classrooms and schools. It highlights the impact of trauma on children and the adults who work with them, while providing relevant and practical strategies to understand and address it through reflective practices. Thank you for this important work! Every educator must read this book!"

-- Marine Avagyan
"For TESOL professionals, who often find themselves on the forefront of the "new normal" and are the closest to students whose behavior may express how they feel better than their limited English ability can, this book, with the transformational pedagogy it represents, is indispensable."
-- NYS TESOL Journal



Book Information
ISBN 9781544319414
Author Victoria E. Romero
Format Paperback
Page Count 248
Imprint Corwin Press Inc
Publisher SAGE Publications Inc
Weight(grams) 690g