“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” And… I’m Relentless for School Change
James Taylor sums up a lot of life lessons in his songs—one of which is the importance of being a friend. Life’s painful for all of us sometimes (if not traumatic). While humans hurt one another, we also need each other to heal and grow. In this post, I explain how trauma-sensitive school relationships are […]
Answers to Trauma-Sensitive Questions in Ms. Jen’s Quick Guides
I teach trauma-sensitive teams how to notice the need and meet the need with individuals, groups, and entire school systems. Often, educators in live seminars respond with really good questions. Other folks likely have similar wonderings but may not be present for my responses. That’s why I’ve created new quick guides co-authored with different trauma-informed […]
Addressing Pandemic Schooling Behavior
My early parenting years inspired this piece. As a new mom to a six-year-old, I never rocked my girl to sleep as an infant or toddler. When she moved in, we had no established bedtime rhythm together, and nights were not easy for either one of us. If you’ve ever cared for a little one […]
Unpacking Big Stress with Rock, Paper, Scissors
Big stress is impacting educators—it’s influenced by a lack of substitute teachers, student behavior concerns, heated conflicts (e.g., over mask mandates, how history should be taught, or affirming gender identities), and more. Together, it creates distress that can increase school personnel’s vulnerability for burnout. That’s because ruptures in relationships take a toll. Many educators feel […]
Trauma Brings Change: What Can Educators Do?
Educators realize that trauma brings change for individuals, relationships, and entire communities. Read this post to connect with resources that can help you help yourself and others in response to trauma—whether now or later. Are you making the transition from distance learning back into brick-and-mortar schools? Is another transition happening for you and your students […]
The Anniversary of the Pandemic’s Beginning
This month marks the one year anniversary of the time when many people started staying home as much as possible due to the pandemic. It’s important for educators to acknowledge the anniversary of the pandemic’s beginning. Not doing so would gloss over the changes, harm, injustice, loss, and resilience that is part of our collective […]
Using Plants to Encourage Taking Good Care
Layers of stress, trauma, and grief continue to impact people individually and collectively as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As a leader you may be wondering how to tend to your people as well as students in meaningful ways. In this blog post, Ms. Jen explains one idea for using images of plants to encourage taking […]
Understanding and Addressing Racism
Understanding and addressing racism is a must for educators. Learn how to unpack whiteness as part of this important process.
The River of Feelings Improves Regulation
Thanks so much to everyone who joined my webinar with Brookes Publishing this week. I enjoyed teaching you about the River of Feelings, which is a visual from my new book Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools: Your Guide to Creating Safe, Supportive Learning Environments for All Students. Participants shared excellent questions and gave positive feedback. You truly warmed […]
Pre-Order Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools
I’m excited to announce that my new book is available for pre-order on the Brookes Publishing website. Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools: Your Guide to Creating Safe, Supportive Learning Environments for All Students details how trauma impacts youth at school and is available now. Read it to learn exactly what school teams can do about the effects […]
