Young People and Grief

Source: Experience Camps

By Sam Piha

Experience Camps, founded in 2009 as a 501c3 organization, is a national, no-cost program for grieving children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or primary caregiver. 

“We know that over 250,000 children are grieving the death of a primary caregiver due to Covid and that 6 million children will have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary care giver by age 18.” - Liza Buck, Experience Camps

Because of the prevalent issue of childhood grief for afterschool participants, we interviewed Liza Buck, the Regional Program Manager for Experience Camps. Below are her responses to our questions.

Q: Can you briefly describe your program, Experience Camps?

A: Experience Camps provide no-cost, one-week sleep away camp programs to kids who have experienced the death of someone significant in their lives. We believe that every child deserves to live a life full of possibility and have seen camp "return" certain elements of childhood to them that may have been consumed by their grief.

Source: Experience Camps

Q: What ages of youth do you serve and how are staff prepared and trained?

A: Our camps welcome kids who will be entering grade 4 through grade 12 - approximately ages 9-18. These campers spend the week with other kids who "get it," who get what it's like to be the only one in class who is grieving someone's death, and who understand that they feel an array of emotions, not always sadness. The bunk counselors who volunteer to staff our camps know how important it is to create that safe space that doesn't always exist outside of camp, and receive training in the months leading up to camp as well as an in-person orientation before the campers arrive. Trainings cover the history of Experience Camps, grief, inclusion, risk management, mandated reporting, and understanding developmental stages. 

Source: Experience Camps

Q: Have you seen an increase in the number of youth who are experiencing grief due to COVID? 

A: Yes, we know that over 250,000 children are grieving the death of a primary caregiver due to Covid and that 6 million children will have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary care giver by age 18. This means that 1 in 5 kids will grieve the death of someone by 18. Most of our campers are grieving the death of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver.

Q: You are utilizing an online program called ExperienceCraft, a world in Minecraft built with and for grieving kids. Can you say more about this? 

A: As far as we know, we have the first Minecraft server of its kind. It's a safe server which means that kids are unable to participate unless the server is open and monitored by staff. We partnered with Connected Camps to invite kids who have experienced grief to our server and Discord channel (also protected) on Friday, Saturday, and Sundays where they get to interact with peers in a virtual environment. There are different "worlds" within ExperienceCraft, including a creative world where kids can create endlessly and add to a memorial garden and not fear anyone destroying their creations since that feature is disabled in the creative world. It's another way for us to try and reach more kids who either do not want to or cannot attend physical camp. Learn more here. 

Source: Experience Camps

Q: Afterschool programs include a number of youth who are experiencing grief. Can you offer any advice or activities for afterschool workers to address the grief experienced by their youth?

A: Being there for the child can look different depending on the day and the kiddo you're showing up for. Some days it may look like being a physical presence that they know is there, others it may be intently listening to them as they talk about something they're interested in, and the best days will be when you ask about their person. When you do ask about their person, say their name, say the word "died" or "death," and ensure your face is conveying interest and not pity. Kids are extremely perceptive, and if they see us flinch, they're less likely to share. The more you listen (with your eyes and ears) the easier it will be to follow their lead on how much they want to talk. Again, what’s important is that they show up for these kids, and not just once, but consistently. 

Q: I noted on your website that camps are held in venues across the country. If an afterschool worker wanted to refer youth to attend, are there certain requirements needed and how would they proceed? 

A: A lot of campers are referred by teachers and after school staff or coaches! The best thing to do is introduce them to our website, and if they're interested, directing their caregiver to the online application. If they need assistance they can always reach out to us. Kids who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, primary caregiver, or another significant figure in their life are eligible to apply and will complete an intake with us to see if camp is a good fit.

Q: Are there any resources to help the youth with transportation required to attend the camp?

A: Campers arrive at each of our six locations and twelve programs by buses chartered by Experience Camps, and each location has several bus stops to try and accommodate as many families as possible. However, we never want transportation to be a barrier so travel scholarships are also available through an application process.

Source: Experience Camps

Q: Do you have any resources you would recommend to assist afterschool leaders in learning more about this work?

A: We have a list of resources, additional information and answers to any of your questions on our website.  

MORE ABOUT… 

Liza Buck (she/her) is the Regional Program Manager for Experience Camps. She has been a teacher, CAD counselor, and has been involved with Experience Camps since 2014, beginning as a bunk counselor and most recently operating as the Program Director for CalEx Girls. In addition to her teaching degrees, she is in the process of completing her MSW at the University of Maine. Liza has a passion for kids and mission-driven work which is why Experience Camps feels like “home.” When she’s not doing “the best work ever,” she is most likely outside with her dog or baking a batch of cookies.

Experience Camps, founded in 2009 as a 501c3, is a national, no-cost program for grieving children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or primary caregiver. Their one-week, overnight summer camps, year-round programs, and content help to reframe the experience of grief, and empower kids with the necessary coping skills to move forward with their lives. Through compassion, connection, and play, Experience Camps allows grieving children to embody a life full of hope and possibility.

What is Experiential Intelligence?

Soren Kaplan

By Sam Piha

Many people, young and old, ask themselves, “Am I smart?, Am I intelligent?” Traditionally this was measured by an IQ test or for many young people, their grades received in school. The notion of intelligence changed in the 80’s and 90’s, with the idea of “multiple intelligences.” In his new book, Soren Kaplan promotes the idea of “Experiential Intelligence,” or XQ.  

“Rather than book smarts or empathetic abilities, experiential intelligence is a measure of how your life experiences have shaped the way you think, what you know and how you use that knowledge.” - Natasha Piñon, A more useful way to measure intelligence, XQ is ‘the new EQ,’ says USC researcher

While Kaplan's idea of experiential intelligence has been adopted by leading business thinkers, we thought that the idea of experiential intelligence was important for youth workers to understand. This is because everyone, regardless of race, gender or social economic status has life experiences that can add to experiential intelligence. We interviewed Dr. Kaplan to learn more about this idea. Below are his responses.

“When you more fully understand the impact of your past on how you think, feel, and act, you increase self-awareness. And by exploring your most challenging experiences with greater intention, you can discover hidden strengths that you can use to empower your future.”- Soren Kaplan, Your Childhood Traumas Can Empower Your Future Success 

Q: People often say they are "smart." What is the difference between "smart" and "intelligence"? 

A: Sometimes we use the word smart to describe someone’s ability to function effectively in the world. Think about the term “street smarts” for example. This term suggests someone might not have a high score on an IQ test or have received the highest test scores in school, or even a degree, but rather the person is adept at navigating the world because of their experiences. Intelligence, on the other hand, is typically tied to more formal definitions related to the intellect and IQ tests.

Q: Can you define experiential intelligence?

A: Experiential Intelligence, or XQ for short, is "the combination of mindsets, abilities, and know-how gained from your experiences." Just as memorizing facts doesn't give you a high IQ, Experiential Intelligence isn't merely what you've learned over time. It's how you view opportunities, perceive challenges, and tackle goals.

Your XQ consists of:

• Mindsets: attitudes and beliefs about yourself, other people, and the world
• Abilities: competencies that help you integrate knowledge, skills and experiences to respond to situations in the most effective way possible
• Know-how: your knowledge and skills

As a complement to IQ and EQ, Experiential Intelligence expands our understanding of what's needed for success in today's increasingly uncertain, ever-changing business environment. XQ is like the third leg of a stool that's been propping us up all along but that we haven't been able to see because it's been hidden beneath our seats.

Here are a couple of articles that were written about my book that define this a bit deeper:

• A more useful way to measure intelligence, XQ is ‘the new EQ,’ says USC researcher
• Your Childhood Traumas Can Empower Your Future Success

Q: Can experiential intelligence come from negative experiences?

A: Research from Richard Tedeschi on Post-Traumatic Growth reveals how “negative experiences can spur positive change, including the recognition of personal strengths, the exploration of new possibilities, improved relationships, a greater appreciation for life, and spiritual growth.” People who have endured natural disasters, bereavement, job loss, economic stress, and serious illnesses often gain insight into themselves and the world in ways that transform their lives. The opportunity is to understand how your past led to tangible strengths, not despite your traumatic experiences, but because of them.

Q: It occurs to me that "experiential intelligence" is very democratic and can be possessed regardless of socio-economic status. Your thoughts? 

A: It absolutely is. Everyone has street smarts because we all have experiences. And our experiences give us strengths and assets. So, it’s as democratic as can be.

Q: How can someone discover his/her hidden strengths that have come from past experiences?

A: There are two strategies for viewing your past:

• Gain insight into how the negative impacts of certain experiences may still linger with you today so you can overcome them
• Uncover hidden strengths that certain experiences delivered to you that can be leveraged in new, creative ways.

Q: Similar to "growth mindset," it seems the notion of experiential intelligence is very useful in working with youth as it credits their experience regardless of socio-economic status. Your thoughts?

A: Again, I completely agree. When working with youth in schools, in the home as parents, as educators, etc., we have the opportunity to:

1. Recognize the strengths that exist because of all experiences.
2. Help youth see their experiences holistically, as things that might have been difficult that might need to be addressed due to certain struggles but at the same time instilling unique strengths. Allowing youth to understand themselves better and see their strengths not despite their experiences but because of them.
3. Create experiences that build intelligence – dialoguing with others they might not normally experience (elderly, from other schools, ages, etc.), travel to unusual places in nature or cities, new types of games and experiential learning activities, etc.

There are several video interviews/ podcasts with Soren Kaplan that are available to watch online at no cost. Below is one video that is worthy of your attention: 

Inside Personal Growth, Podcast 993: Experiential Intelligence with Soren Kaplan

MORE ABOUT...

Soren Kaplan is the bestselling and award winning author of Leapfrogging, The Invisible Advantage and his newest release, Experiential Intelligence: Harness the Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs. He is also an Affiliated Practitioner at the Center for Effective Organizations at USC’s Marshall School of Business, a writer for FastCompany and Inc. Magazine, a globally recognized keynote speaker, and the Founder of InnovationPoint and upBOARD. He has been recognized by the Thinkers50 as one of the world’s top thought leaders in business strategy and innovation.

He has been quoted, published, and interviewed by Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, CNBC, National Public Radio, the American Management Association, USA Today, Strategy & Leadership, and The International Handbook on Innovation, among many others.  

Youth Voice and Self- Expression in Afterschool: Sharing Circles

By Sam Piha

Source: www.acacamps.org

Providing opportunities for youth to reflect on and express their thoughts and feelings are a critical strategy for any afterschool program. These opportunities are essential to promoting youth voice, healthy youth development, social emotional skills and resiliency, especially those who have experienced trauma. Strategies and activities include sharing circles, poetry and spoken word, journaling, videography, art and the theater arts.

We interviewed Johanna Masis (Program Director, Oakland Leaf) on the importance of using sharing circles to promote youth voice and self- expression in afterschool programs. Below are some of her responses.

Q: Why is it important to provide youth with opportunities to reflect on and/or express themselves and their feelings?

Johanna Masis
Program Director, Oakland Leaf

A: There is a misconception that the majority of youth have an adult in their life that sits down with them and gives them uninterrupted, dedicated time to converse about what is going on in their daily lives. Families are stretched thin...even more so with the stress of the current COVID-19 era. Youth's feelings can be minimized given the increased stressors of current life. Having a platform for 20-30 minutes* to reflect on or express themselves is self-care. It's free. It's crucial. It creates connections.
*Regarding the 20-30 minutes: As an organization, we were unable to find hard data about the ideal dosage and duration for a circle. This 20 minute increment is what we do at all of our programs daily solely based on being able to give each youth participant an opportunity to speak/share once the prompt has been provided.

Q: Do you think that sharing circles are a good way to provide these opportunities? Why?
A: Out-of-school time (OST) venues allow for these opportunities to happen; it's embedded in our everyday practice. Youth learn to wait their turn to speak. They learn to empathize with their peers. Many of them end up sharing similar experiences that cut across race, religion, gender, etc. Dedicated time to engage in reflection also creates opportunities to connect their learning from the day and builds critical thinking.

Q: Do staff need special training? 
A: Staff needs training first with regards to managing their own bias and assumptions about youth and their circumstances. So often, adults default to how "THEY" grew up. Talking about your feelings may not have been culturally appropriate or even a concept. Secondly, staff needs to know how to hold space and sit in discomfort. We don't always have the answers and that is okay. However, it's important to seek out what continued support may look like on a case by case basis. At the forefront of these pieces of training is the reminder that staff are mandated reporters. There is a legal obligation to report any harm a young person is experiencing.

Source: Oakland Leaf

Q: Can you provide one example of a sharing circle you conducted that resulted in a meaningful opportunity for self- expression? What age were the kids?
A: I supported a 2nd-grade afterschool instructor with a circle after we observed a carjacking across the street from the soccer field on which our youth were playing. Because some of the youth heard the screaming from the victim and saw the weapons the carjackers had, the instructor quickly brought them indoors and circled up while I was on the phone with the police. We let them express what they saw, let them ask questions, asked what questions they had, and reassured them that we would ensure there was a follow up with their families.

Q: Can you recommend any good resources/ websites for afterschool programs that want to learn more?
A: I pulled some resources we used to create our Oakland Leaf Restorative Justice curriculum:

• Riestenberg, N. (2012). Circle in the Square: Building Community and Repairing Harm in School. St Paul, MN: Living Justice Press.
• Charney, R. (2002). Teaching Children to Care: Classroom Management for Ethical and Academic Growth, K-8. (Revised ed.). Turner Falls, MA: Northwest Foundation for Children.
• Wadhwa, A. (2016). Restorative Justice in Urban Schools: Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline. New York, NY: Routledge
• [Online Resource] Center for Non-Violent Communication (n.d.). 

______________________
Johanna C. Masis is currently the Program Director at Oakland Leaf. She started her career as a high school teacher and later joined AmeriCorps. She taught abroad in Japan and has, since then, dedicated herself to promoting creative ways for youth to learn in different capacities. She has directed youth programs in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Bladium in Alameda and Denver, as well as language programs in Alameda and San Francisco. Johanna first joined Oakland Leaf in 2013 as the Site Manager for International Community School Afterschool Program. For the Fall 2014, she assumed a new role as the Site Manager for Oakland Leaf’s afterschool programs at both the International Community School and Think College Now campus. In December 2015, Johanna Masis become Oakland Leaf’s Program Director. As part of the Oakland Leaf community, you can expect to see her energy, compassion, responsibility, work ethic and natural leadership skills in full swing.

Can Youth "Check-in" Remotely? There's an App for That

By Sam Piha

Source: L- weareteachers.org, R- HelloYello

One of the most important things about expanded learning programs (ELP) is for youth to have the opportunity to check-in with a trusted, caring adult. This is reinforced by the literature on positive youth development, social emotional learning (SEL) and trauma informed practice. We have written several blogs and articles on the importance of checking-in with youth.

But how can we continue that when our programs are closed due to COVID-19 and our afterschool participants are sheltering in place?

Source: Temescal Associates

Brandon and Ryan Sportel,  brothers and educators, developed an online application to allow young people to check in, called HelloYello. We first learned about HelloYello while researching our paper “Promoting SEL and Character Skills in Expanded Learning Programs.” We will offer a webinar introducing this application and showing afterschool practitioners how to use it. Below we include some responses from an interview we did with Brandon. (Because this was developed for teachers, they use the terms “student” instead of “youth,” and “teacher” instead of “youth program leader”).

Q: Can you briefly describe what the Hello Yello app is for? 

A: The HelloYello App is for strengthening student/staff relationships. It is a web-based app that students use to "check- in" with their teachers to express their thoughts and feelings, and share their daily experiences. Teachers, educators, counselors, and afterschool staff use HelloYello to understand all of their students from a "whole child" perspective, monitor their students' emotional wellness, and sustain trusting relationships.

Q: Can you briefly tell us the origin story about the development of the app? 

A: Our work began with students that struggle with emotions and behaviors.  As Education Specialists, we noticed that students benefited significantly when given opportunities to send us confidential messages about their feelings and experiences. So, we created a platform that validates student voices, and guides educators to be mentors and support staff. To read more about the origin story, click here.

To register and learn more, click here.

Q: During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, do you think this would be a good resource for afterschool programs that are shuttered, but want to maintain contact with their youth participants?

A: Yes, especially because it allows meaningful connections but maintains important social boundaries.

Q: Can you briefly describe how the HelloYello app works?  

A: Students login and are invited to share their feelings (using emoticons), thoughts and/or experiences; program leaders view a feed of student comments, and respond by simply letting the student know they got their message. We invite people to visit our website to learn more.

Source: HelloYello

Q: Is the app easy and safe for children to use?

A: The app is designed to be very easy to use and is completely safe since students can only share information with the leaders/coordinators in their ELP.  HelloYello is also registered with The Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC).


Q: If program leaders are interested in contacting HelloYello, can you provide an email address/ name?
A: helloyelloteam@gmail.com Brandon Sportel, CEO

___________________
Ryan Sportel is a Dean of Students at Goleta Valley Junior High and Brandon Sportel is an Educational Specialist that runs a Learning Center at Barbara Webster Elementary. Both have combined experience of over 37 years in education. Brandon was the 2014 Milken Educator for CA, 2015 Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year, and 2014 Carpinteria Teacher of the Year. Ryan was the Principal at Deveruex of Santa Barbara, a non-public school that served students at all grade levels. Both are highly regarded as pioneers in the social emotional learning space, and have had significant success in leading professional development training for districts on how to work with students that need mental health and behavior support.
___________________
Click here to review a recent article entitled, "There's An App for That- School Counseling and SEL Go Online."

Family Separation and Childhood Trauma

By Sam Piha

In expanded learning programs, we are seeking to learn the effects of childhood trauma and design programs that integrate trauma informed practice. Thus, we were horrified by the Trump Administration’s practice of “zero tolerance” which inflicts trauma on children and youth. 

Below, we post a statement by our colleagues at the Forum for Youth Investment on this topic. We have also published several LIAS blog posts on the issue of immigration and young people.  
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The Forum for Youth Investment stands with our partners and peer organizations in expressing deep concerns over the Trump administration's immigration policy and its impact on children and families.

On June 20, President Trump issued an Executive Order to reverse his administration's policy of separating children from their parents. The "zero tolerance" policy that separated more than 2,300 children from their parents was inhumane and unjustifiable, but the approach that is likely to replace it is only a small improvement and falls far short of what we should demand of our nation.

In particular, the policy to allow indeterminate detention of entire families is morally indefensible.  It is also counter to everything that science tells us about child and youth development, health and well-being and the impact of trauma on young brains. As many physicians' associations have noted, these children are experiencing trauma that will likely follow them for the rest of their lives.

Photo Credit: SparkAction

Therefore, we implore the Trump administration to move swiftly to end this inhumane practice and to focus on reunifying separated children with their families as quickly as possible. We also strongly advocate for the President to work with bipartisan congressional leaders to craft just and responsible long-term immigration solutions that have at their center the health and well-being of children, young people and their families.

Please visit SparkAction's Immigration Resources page for more resources and actions to take.

New Educational Trends and Terms

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In America, educational trends and thinking don’t evolve. Instead, they tend to swing like a pendulum or cycle back and forth. To see a good example, just look at the writings of John Dewey from the early 1900s. 

Regardless of these swings, it is important for afterschool leaders to keep up on “new” educational trends and related terms. Below are some new terms and their definitions, as well as some resource links to learn more. 

Photo Credit:
www.willbrattcounselling.com

Trauma-informed practice involves adults recognizing the high likelihood that some (or many) youth participants have or are currently experiencing trauma. Skillful adult mentors possess a basic understanding of how trauma can impact children’s behavior and development and they strive to organize a program that is sensitive to the vulnerabilities and triggers of trauma survivors. 

They focus on providing a safe, supportive environment to promote healing from trauma and healthy development so youth may not only survive, but also thrive. They orchestrate activities and form networks of care aimed at restoring a sense of belonging to young people, their families and communities. (Dr. Marnie Curry, UC Santa Cruz)

Photo Credit: www.lauranordstrom.wordpress.com

Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings,1994).

Some of the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching are:

• Positive perspectives on parents and families

• Communication of high expectations

• Learning within the context of culture

• Student-centered instruction

• Culturally mediated instruction

• Reshaping the curriculum

• Teacher as facilitator

Photo Credit: www.npr.org

Restorative justice aims to shift the conversation away from how a punitive legal system can enact retribution on an offender and instead looks to help the offender make reparations to their community, usually through justice mediation, counseling, or even reparations. (Scott Johnson, Social Solutions)

Competency-based learning is a student-centered approach to instruction and assessment where students advance upon mastery of a set of skills and knowledge as they progress through their education. (AYPF, Forum for Thought Blog)

Photo Credit: www.wps.k12.va.us

Personalized Learning is student-centered education that involves a significant amount of student voice and choice. Personalized Learning can be broken down into five principles: competency-based learning, flexible learning, student-driven learning, dispositions for learning, and authentic learning. (Center for Collaborative Education)


Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. (CASEL.org)

Character education addresses many tough issues in education while developing a positive school climate. Educators from a diverse array of schools have transformed their school cultures, reduced discipline referrals, increased academic achievement for all learners, developed global citizens, and improved job satisfaction and retention among teachers.Character education includes and complements a broad range of educational approaches such as whole child education, service learning, social-emotional learning, and civic education. All share a commitment to helping young people become responsible, caring, and contributing citizens. (Character.org)

Trauma-Informed Practice, Part 2

Photo Credit: http://www.garfieldcountyprep.org/

By Sam Piha

We know that many of the young people we serve have been affected by trauma - trauma through abuse, through violence in their community, bullying, the threat of deportation, discrimination against LGBTQ youth, racial oppression, and other experiences. How can we be sensitive to and better serve the needs of these youth? What is trauma-informed practice?

Below is part 2 of an interview with Dr. Marnie Curry (UC Santa Cruz) on the topic of trauma-informed practice. (See part 1 here.) 

Dr. Marnie Curry

Q: What does trauma informed practice (TIP) look like in its simplest form? 

A: At its core TIP is about forging reciprocal, trusting relations with children and youth. Ideally, children and youth are empowered to choose, design and possibly lead activities, which allow them to express themselves in creative, meaningful and productive ways. Trauma informed programs provide sanctuaries for children and youth marked by seven cultural commitments: 

1. Commitment to nonviolence; 
2. Commitment to emotional intelligence; 
3. Commitment to social learning; 
4. Commitment to open communication; 
5. Commitment to democracy; 
6. Commitment to social responsibility; and 
7. Commitment to growth and change (Bloom 2005; Bloom 2007).

Q: In your writings, you use the term "authentic cariño." Can you say what you mean by this?

A: Authentic cariño is a holistic, trauma-informed approach to youth development, which is especially attuned to the needs of low social economic status (SES), Latinx youth and other youth of color. The Spanish word “cariño” translates to caring, affection, or love, but actually is more of a concept than just a word. I use this terminology to signal a departure from Eurocentric, maternal connotations of caring and to emphasize culturally and politically conscious forms of care. 

Adults and organizations that embrace authentic cariño braid together three forms of care: familial, intellectual and critical. Familial cariño emphasizes building robust, respectful and caring relations between and amongst program providers and participants; together as a community all members strive to genuinely support each other’s entire well being. Intellectual cariño involves nurturing the minds of young people and providing opportunities for youth to grapple with, reflect on, and address meaningful issues and perplexing problems. Finally, critical cariño reflects a social justice orientation that demands that care be undertaken with historical, political, and cultural consciousness of youths’ lived realities. 

In one especially powerful after school program authentic cariño surfaced in many arenas. For example, during diá de los muertos I witnessed youth creating elaborately decorated calaveras (skulls) of beloved ancestors and sharing commemorative stories of their loved ones in a community circle. The coach leading this activity was a well-known advocate for his mentees and would shadow them in school if they were struggling academically. He debriefed these observations with his mentees and together they constructed proactive plans to overcome obstacles, often enlisting the partnership of students’ teachers or school-based advisors. 

In this same program, I witnessed a soccer club successfully uniting to write and win a grant to obtain an astro turf field in a schoolyard that previously looked like a prison quad. These same futbolistas sponsored weekend soccer tournaments punctuated by half-time workshops led by youth, who educated players on capitalism and the Dream Act. Perhaps, most compelling was the way in which the youth development coaches from the after school program forged deep partnerships with school personnel in ways that meant that the division between school and after school became blurred. For youth, this meant that they experienced a seamless network of cariño that provided intense levels of safety and affirmation. 

This network of care proved invaluable when tragedies rocked the school community. In one school year, three youth affiliated with the school (a recent graduate, a sibling, and a current student) died by gun violence. The after school program played a central role in coordinating programs and services that not only helped youth process these traumatic events, but also which empowered youth to mobilize a vibrant campaign to address the root causes of violence and promote peace in their city.

-----------------------------

Marnie W. Curry is a researcher at the Center for Educational Research in the Interest of Underserved Students at UC-Santa Cruz. Her areas of specialization include: urban schooling; teaching and learning to support culturally and linguistically diverse learners; and teacher professional communities. She is deeply committed to bridging the worlds of research and practice and promoting educational equity for youth who have been historically underserved by their schools and districts. 

Trauma-Informed Practice, Part 1

Photo Credit: www.ambergristoday.com

By Sam Piha

It is very difficult to promote social emotional learning and character building among youth who have suffered trauma. We know that many of the young people we serve have been affected by trauma - trauma through abuse, through violence in their community, bullying, the threat of deportation, discrimination against LGBTQ youth, racial oppression, and other experiences. How can we be sensitive to and better serve the needs of these youth? We asked Dr. Marnie Curry (UC Santa Cruz) to help us answer these questions by presenting at our upcoming How Kids Learn VII conference on December 5, 2017 and being interviewed for this blog post. Below are some of her responses to our interview questions.

Q: How do you define trauma? 

Dr. Marnie Curry

A: Trauma occurs when an individual or community experiences physical or emotional harm or serious threats of such harm. Stressors like community violence, domestic violence, child abuse, chronic neglect, hunger, traumatic loss, severe bullying, household substance abuse, police brutality, homelessness, and racism can by themselves or in combination have lasting adverse effects on children’s development and wellbeing. 

Trauma can be acute (resulting from a single incident), chronic (occurring repeatedly over prolonged time periods or generations), or complex (involving multiple kinds of trauma).

Q: Is being part of a group that suffers oppression included in your definition? 

A: Members of oppressed, nondominant groups, who daily confront racism and discrimination, who are surrounded by media images that criminalize and demonize black and brown people, who are mistreated and marginalized by the education system, justice system, immigration system and economic system, face persistent and toxic experiences that impair their health and wellbeing. However, because trauma is a subjective phenomenon and people respond differently to stressors, I do not assume that membership in an oppressed group automatically translates to trauma. I do, though, believe that many oppressed groups suffer from chronic, complex trauma. 

Additionally, I think the impact of trauma is experienced differently due to the intersectional nature of oppression. Trauma-informed practitioners need to be sensitive to how being, for example, an LGBTQ person of color or an undocumented immigrant woman inevitably involve unique contexts that differently shape a person’s response to trauma.

Q: What is trauma informed practice that is appropriate for afterschool workers? 

A: In some ways, I resist the notion that after-school workers, school-based teachers, hospital clinicians, social workers, etc. each have a different set of trauma-informed practices. For me, the compartmentalization of children’s lives into after school, home, school, community, etc. suggested by these silos, is antithetical to the holistic approach that trauma-informed care demands. 

Instead, I prefer to focus on trauma-informed practices, which prioritize an integrated and coordinated approach to youth development. Within this frame, trauma-informed practice involves adults recognizing the high likelihood that some (or many) youth participants have or are currently experiencing trauma. Skillful adult mentors possess a basic understanding of how trauma can impact children’s behavior and development and they strive to organize a program that is sensitive to the vulnerabilities and triggers of trauma survivors. They focus on providing a safe, supportive environment to promote healing from trauma and healthy development so youth may not only survive, but also thrive. They orchestrate activities and form networks of care aimed at restoring a sense of belonging to young people, their families and communities.

-----------------------------

Marnie W. Curry is a researcher at the Center for Educational Research in the Interest of Underserved Students at UC-Santa Cruz. Her areas of specialization include: urban schooling; teaching and learning to support culturally and linguistically diverse learners; and teacher professional communities. She is deeply committed to bridging the worlds of research and practice and promoting educational equity for youth who have been historically underserved by their schools and districts.