Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole-Staff Approach

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 

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Gary R. Howard Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Chapter 1 ACEs and the New Normal ACEs Are an Equal Opportunity Occurrence Lost in Translation The New Normal Chapter 2 Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask Before Helping Others Burnout or Compassion Fatigue? The New Normal: A Case Study Intervention Self-Care Is an Ethical Imperative WWAD? Chapter 3 It’s Easy to Have High Expectations—Hard to Grow a New Mindset Knowing Myself Precedes Teaching Students Knowing My Students and Knowing Pedagogy-Growing Mindset Knowing My Strengths, Knowing the Strengths of My Students Fosters Resiliency “I Can’t Learn From You Because You’re White” Progress Not Perfection Knowing Myself and Responding to Change Are About Self-Care Knowing Myself Matters—Because When Negative Bias Shows Up, Students Are Miseducated Good Teaching Is Not Enough—The New Normal Warrants Transformationist Teaching Chapter 4 The Effects of Trauma on the Brain Acknowledging That Trauma Is Sitting in the Classroom Is Transformational Teaching ACEs and Learning ACEs and Behavior Trauma Has Many Forms If I Knew Then What I Know Now Chapter 5 Teaching Behaviors, Differentiating Interventions, Changing Pedagogy Relationships Precede Learning Talk, Trust, Feel, Repair Schools and Classrooms Have a Culture and Culture Is Learned Response to Intervention (RTI) Looking at Behavior Management Through a Trauma-Informed Lens Change Is Hard and Leadership Matters Talk, Trust, Feel, Repair: My Rookie Year Schools Are Ideal for Social Working Chapter 6 Plan With the End in Mind: Visioning a Compassionate School The Innovative School District PreK–12th Grades SEL Data Team/Self-Assessment Checklist Case Study: ISD’s Response to Behavior Interventions Changing Positions to Change Lives What Does It Mean to Work in a Trauma-Informed School or School District? Chapter 7 From Theory to Practice: Transformationist Actions Convert ACEs to Aces Transformationist Schools and School Districts Transformationist Instructional Staff Transformationist School Counselors and School-Based Social Workers Transformationist School Psychologists and School Nurses Transformationist Support Staff (Office, Cafeteria, Custodial, Bus Drivers) Chapter 8 The Process, the Plan, the Transformation The Process Step 1: Assessing Capacity Step 2: Building Capacity Step 3: Implementation Step 4: Evaluating Program Effectiveness Where Is Our Sense of Urgency? The Plan: Implementation Guide to Transformation Implementation Evaluation and Planning Chapter 9 In Their Own Words Antwone Fisher Cleressa Brown Conor Black Maria Gonzales The Salomon Martinez Family Additional Reading and Resources Glossary of Terms References Index

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 an educator, author, and consultant. He has had the privilege to work with students from pre-K to 12th grade who have persevered in the face of adversity and trauma. He began his career in education as a New York City public high school teacher, teaching in one of the city’s highest-performing public schools. He then went on to work as a teacher, behavior specialist, and, eventually, as an administrator in traditional and alternative schools supporting students with significant mental health and behavioral needs. Ricky is the co-author, along with Victoria Romero and Amber Warner, of the Corwin bestselling book, Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole Staff Approach. The model that he and his co-authors developed in their book was included in the Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon General’s Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress, & Health as an example of best practices for schools to support children and families impacted by toxic stress and trauma. Ricky continues to work with state and federal policymakers as an adviser on trauma-informed care in public health and education policy.  As a consultant and coach, Ricky works with schools, school districts, education service districts, and state departments of education across the country to develop systems of support that foster achievement, well-being, and resilience among staff and students. His work has been featured in podcasts, online media, books, magazines, national conferences, as well as a trauma-informed teaching video series developed by the National Education Association, WETA, and AdLit. Ricky finds inspiration in the resilience of young people and the heart and hard work of educators.   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.

Review :
"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." "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!" "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." "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." "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." "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!" "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."