July - 2020

Jul 24, 2020
3 min

Teachers and Families Collaborating to Educate Children During School Closures

By Hailey Jordan, CEI Intern Many schools across the world closed this spring in order to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. School and government leaders are still pondering whether or not it will be safe to reopen in the fall. According to UNESCO (2020), recent school closures impacted nearly 60% of the world’s student population. As a way to continue students’ education, many school districts in the United States aided parents’ and kids’ transition from in-person to

Back to School After COVID-19 Part I: Supporting Student & Staff Mental Health

Center for Educational Improvement

Jul 21, 2020
4 min

Back to School After COVID-19 Part I: Supporting Student & Staff Mental Health

By Dana Asby, CEI Director of Innovation & Research Support and Ingrid Padgett, CEI Director of Communications & Development This is the first part of the special series Back to School After COVID-19. View Part II here. School districts are making decisions right now about how and when to “open up” for the next academic year. Teachers, students, and families are concerned about safety, learning, and so many of the multitudes of details that must be addressed, whether instruct

Back to School After COVID-19 Part II: Schools Must Address Grief as Students Return to School

Kaela Farrise

Jul 21, 2020
6 min

Back to School After COVID-19 Part II: Schools Must Address Grief as Students Return to School

By Kaela Farrise, CEI Program Assistant, Innovation & Research Support This is the second part of the special series Back to School After COVID-19. View Part I here. As schools reopen, it is essential to specifically consider and address feelings of grief and loss among students and staff. Some students and teachers will be grieving for a family member, friend, or other loved one who died. Others will be grappling with the loss of missed experiences, the loss of sense of com

Back to School After COVID-19 Part III: Open Up with Optimism and Connection

Center for Educational Improvement

Jul 21, 2020
4 min

Back to School After COVID-19 Part III: Open Up with Optimism and Connection

By Guest Blogger Kate Nugent, Vice President of Learning, Life is Good Playmakers and Dana Asby, CEI Director of Innovation & Research Support This is the third part of the special series Back to School After COVID-19. View Part I here. As staff and students return to school this fall, behind computers or at their school desks, educators have an opportunity to vision together with their school community for a brighter future, full of hope, joy, and connection. Educational lea

Featured Fellow: Joelle Brookner Demonstrates Leadership and Compassion in Western Massachusetts

Dana Asby

Jul 21, 2020
4 min

Featured Fellow: Joelle Brookner Demonstrates Leadership and Compassion in Western Massachusetts

By Dana Asby, CEI Director of Innovation & Research Support When Joelle Brookner became a Childhood-Trauma Learning Collaborative (C-TLC) Fellow, she was the principal of Williamstown Elementary School, a Pre-K-6 school of over 400 students in the northwesternmost part of Massachusetts. Her leadership in that school for many years earned her the respect and recognition of colleagues, parents, and the community. She has recently transitioned into a role as the Director of Curr

School Mental Health Screening, Part III: Is Universal Screening the Right Choice?

Center for Educational Improvement

Jul 20, 2020
3 min

School Mental Health Screening, Part III: Is Universal Screening the Right Choice?

By Dalveer Kaur, CEI Intern and John Crocker, Director of School Mental Health & Behavioral Services, Methuen Public Schools This is the third part of the special series School Mental Health Screening. The reopening of schools this fall has prompted a multitude of concerns about appropriate safety procedures, new learning models, and learning loss. As students return from an extended period of separation from friends, family, and community, there will also be concerns relati

Equity in Education Part IV: Redefining Education

Center for Educational Improvement

Jul 13, 2020
4 min

Equity in Education Part IV: Redefining Education

By Kelsey Remeis, CEI Intern This is the fourth part of the special series Equity in Education. During this time when racial justice and equity is in the spotlight and as we are reminded that segregation is a growing concern, we begin to educate and bring awareness to how, as a whole, the way boundaries have been established for schools and districts are sometimes barriers to equity and justice (Vox, 2018). The terms in which we define justice can alter our perception and

Life Is Good Playmakers: Spreading Optimism, Joy, and Hope through Compassionate Connection

Center for Educational Improvement

Jul 10, 2020
3 min

Life Is Good Playmakers: Spreading Optimism, Joy, and Hope through Compassionate Connection

By Dana Asby, CEI Director of Innovation & Research Support and Sofia Duenas, CEI Intern Life is Good Playmakers knows that a connection with a single caring adult can make a world of difference in the life of a child who has experienced trauma. “Positive relationships with adult caregivers are the most critical component to successful early childhood trauma treatment” (Life is Good Playmakers, n.d.). They use an evidence-based approach to infusing optimism and positivity int

J’haria Dallas

Jul 7, 2020
5 min

Addiction and Substance Misuse in Youth

By J’haria Dallas, CEI Intern Parents, educators, and mentors alike are teaching children to positively cope with negative emotions in a healthy way; unfortunately, many teens still turn to substances to numb their feelings rather than using mindfulness, community, and other strategies to address their pain. Adolescent substance misuse is an ongoing problem both in the United States and internationally. Substance abuse is categorized as “… smoking, drinking, misusing prescrip