We Need to Learn About Trauma to Help Kids Who Need Us Most

Everywhere you look, our schools are filled with traumatized children; children struggling not just to learn and succeed, but to survive. Too often, we think…

My School’s Dual Language Immersion Program Helps Immigrant Students Blossom Into Leaders

It’s the first week of the 2018-19 year in my second grade classroom at Munger Mountain Elementary School, and one girl sits apart from the…

Here’s How Teachers Can Help All Students Thrive, Even After Trauma

Fall has always been my favorite season. Having the opportunity to join hundreds of educators at the recent LEAP InnovatED Summit, just days before most…

How Do We Bring Magic Into the Classroom? Georgia’s New Teacher of the Year Shows the Way.

For 2020 Georgia Teacher of the Year Tracey Nance Pendley, the road to teaching was not easy. Pendley’s mother was a drug addict who was…

Teachers Can’t Take Care of Their Students If They Don’t Take Care of Themselves First

I remember vividly the first time I put my head on my desk and cried during my lunch period. The bell to end the fourth…

Social Emotional Learning Needs to Become How We Do School Not Just Another Thing We Do at School

Earlier this month, the fire alarm went off at my school as students were entering the building in the morning. For most people, this signifies…

Our Students’ Truth Matters and We Must Listen

As an English teacher, I encourage students to take risks as they dive into learning and embrace failure. I encourage them to share their struggles,…

How Educators Can Keep Their Kids Stress-Free and Learning

Trauma is a silent, but very prevalent problem in the classrooms of today. In fact, recent reports by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services…

A Psychology Professor Explains How Racial Trauma Impacts Students of Color

Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi has been thinking about and studying children’s mental health since she was a child herself. I recently talked to her about the…

School Shootings Aren’t the Only Things School Police Officers Need to Train For

In light of recent school shootings, one of the proposed solutions has been to put more school police officers in schools. In the last 30…