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