National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development

"Black students don't need to be taught how to endure oppressive educational programs; they need schools and leaders committed to cultivating happiness and fostering environments where they can thrive." I love this post from Ivory Toldson on elevating Black student success through joy! Schools should prioritize making emotionally promotive spaces for Black students-- addressing common characteristics of emotionally inhibitive school spaces such as racialized interactions and relationships with teachers in the classroom, the use of law enforcement in schools for classroom management, and the lack of access to professional emotional support. Addressing these characteristics creates more room for joy in Black students' schooling experiences by removing the emotionally inhibiting experiences that Black students face such as their emotions being policed, ignored, treated as dangerous, used as justification for mistreatment and the exclusive encouragement of suppressing their emotions while at the same time having negative emotions habitually activated from stressful schooling experiences. I explore these issues in depth in my paper Black Emotions Matter: Understanding the Impact of Racial Oppression on Black Youth's Emotional Development published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence. Happy to share the paper with anyone who reaches out!

NCTSN.org offers many diverse trainings. One webinar offered is Addressing Trauma and Disproportionate Ethnic Minority Contact in Juvenile Justice through Empowerment. The presenters will pose potential avenues to truly engage families and communities in the formation of new systems and services, which are built upon principles of empowerment.

Dr. Megan Fujita is CSWE’s Vice President of Education. Megan holds a PhD in education policy and research methodology from George Mason University and a Master’s of Social Work in interpersonal practice and mental health from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Megan Fujita is CSWE’s Vice President of Education. Megan holds a PhD in education policy and research methodology from George Mason University and a Master’s of Social Work in interpersonal practice and mental health from the University of Michigan.

We are so excited to share the work of our faculty partner and cobtributer Karon Johnson. Congrarulations, Karon. We appreciate all of the amazing work you do.

November is National Homelessness Awareness Month and National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. Check out the SAMSHA.gov website for resources and programs experiencing homelessness.

There is still time to meet the prerequisite requirements in order to join this consultation call. Take the Online Course here: https://buff.ly/40rU1dg to sign up.

If you’re feeling anxious and looking for ways to help support your friends, our guide to supporting Black LGBTQ+ young people is a reminder of the importance of active allyship, intersectionality, solidarity, and support. Prioritizing the lived experiences and dismantling layers of marginalization compounded on Black queer and trans folks is at the forefront of our work right now. We know that many of you are seeking guidance and comfort — we hold space for all of your feelings and emotions here. Always ?? We hope this helps. #ProtectTransKids #LGBTQ #TheTrevorProject

This week is National School Psychology Week, and we are joining the National Association of School Psychologists in raising awareness of the critical importance of school psychologists and the support they provide to students and schools. School psychologists provide important mental health services, including counseling, suicide risk assessment and intervention, behavior management, and threat assessment and interventions. As schools continue to be on the frontlines addressing the youth mental health crisis, school psychologists are critical to supporting students’ mental and behavioral health so they can thrive and succeed at school and in life.

This weeks spotlight advisory board member is Dr. Janice Edwards. Dr. Edwards received her MSW degree from Howard University School of Social Work and her PhD from the National Catholic School of Social Work, Catholic University. Thank you for your contributions!