Blueprint For Trauma-Informed Practice And Civic Engagement In Post-Covid K-12 Schools

There’s a pretty good chance most principals will have at least some students back into physical school buildings sometime in the fall of 2021.  

Enrollment may be a little less as some parents embrace homeschooling and others start looking for safer places for their child to learn.

But for the most part, students will be back in school, with new knowledge of what a pandemic is and how our social emotional health can be disrupted at the drop of a hat.  

Administrators and teachers have this new knowledge as well, knowing it is now their job to push their comfort zones with technology so they can truly meet students where they are. 

The good news is we can all rely on the fact that students never stopped developing during the pandemic.

Some even stepped out and protested what they believed was wrong and embarked to make a change.

Experiencing trauma and fighting for justice are different types of learning experiences.  They are less prescriptive, don’t have clear learning targets and are hard to evaluate through assessments.  

But trauma-informed practice and civic engagement can be powerful drivers of learning.

You can bet students will have lots of stories to tell and causes to join when they come back.

We all do.

The challenge for K-12 schools post-Covid is how to create learning environments where everyone is motivated to have a voice in conversations about what really matters.

Teachers need to be up for the challenge of having these conversations and not be afraid to challenge students to challenge their own opinions.

Conversations are the blueprint for trauma-informed practice and civic engagement in a post-covid world.