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Your go-to source for all things education, trauma-informed, leadership, and beyond!
Our experts share some of their favorite tools, strategies, resources, and suggestions.
Tell Me Something Good- Lyons USD 405
Lyons Middle School recently hosted its annual Portfolio / Artifact Night, showcasing the impressive career exploration work of students in grades 6-8. This initiative, supported by a Perkins Reserve Grant, provided students with valuable insights into their future career paths.
8 Important Aspects Educators Should Understand About Challenging Behaviors
Every educator has encountered students whose behaviors present challenges in the classroom. Whether it’s a child who consistently disrupts class, withdraws socially, or exhibits signs of emotional dysregulation, understanding the missing skills and unmet needs causing these behaviors is crucial for effectively addressing them, along with effectively managing our own emotional responses.
Tell Me Something Good- Chase-Raymond USD 401
In the 23/24 school year Kylee McDonald and her administrative team applied for a comprehensive grant to promote wellness and stronger school to community connections in the district. They were awarded, and part of Kylee’s vision for the grant was to bring a restorative approach to the campus with staff, students, and families. Both her principles jumped on board, and they hosted Professional Development with ESSDACK to bring this philosophy to staff.
The Kids are Alright
Few things chap my hide more than the classic grumbling "kids these days" complaint, especially from those who don’t work with these kids every day. There's a pervasive idea that today's youth are somehow inferior but how many of us remember the “old folks” telling us Gen X-ers what a great generation we were? It didn’t happen back then and it never will. But as an educator, these comments often prompt an eye roll that I perfected during my own teenage years.
Anchors: The Symphony of Healing
Life, with all its beautiful and challenging high notes and low notes, is a journey and experience that is unique to each individual. It is filled with moments of joy, obstacles to overcome, love, sadness, and a myriad of emotions that serenade our daily lives. While we often embrace and melodically cruise through the calm, relaxing moments, it is the doubt-filled, sad, angry, and stress inducing moments we find most challenging and disruptive.
Journey to Becoming Restorative Practitioners in Our Schools
Many schools find themselves on a path leading toward restorative practices and approaches. Our team has been diligently working on a framework that specifically addresses the aforementioned challenges, empowering staff to act as change-makers and undertake the demanding task of serving our most challenging students. Given the prevalent challenging behaviors in our schools, a balance of strong relationships and high accountability becomes imperative.