The Center for Resilient Schools and Communities, spearheaded by Dr. Jennifer Parker, worked with 75 educators this summer to provide education on adverse childhood experiences, unconscious bias, self-care, and trauma-informed practices. On August 9, 50 educators from District 1’s O.P. Earle Elementary School participated in a CRSC Level 1 training as part of their professional development ahead of the 2022-2023 academic year. Three educators, who share 70 years of education experience between them, shared insight into their Level 1 experience.
From Left: Brian Murray (Principal), Ashley Foster (Assistant Principal), Angie Hatchette (Teacher)
Principal Brian Murray taught in the classroom for 13 years, served as an assistant principal for five years, and has been O.P. Earle’s principal for the last 10 years. During his tenure, he has fostered a resiliency-minded culture in his school environment. O.P. Earle began implementing trauma-informed practices four or five years ago and the training served as a refresher for veteran staff and as a foundation for new staff. When asked about the overall benefit of this training to his staff, Murray said it served a dual purpose. It brought his staff together as a collective and helped oriented everyone in the same direction.
“It got everyone on the same page. Hearing the same words, the same speakers…we can have great conversations over this next year that can help drive what we do,” Murray said, acknowledging the empathy teachers oftentimes have, but aren’t always sure how to channel.
“It got everyone on the same page. Hearing the same words, the same speakers…we can have great conversations over this next year that can help drive what we do.”
“As teachers, we are very empathetic, and we see things, but we don’t always know how to address it,” he said. “And we want to be inclusive of all the different children that come in.” The training provided not only an awareness of what students might be experiencing, but a common language for talking about those experiences.
Assistant Principal Ashley Foster, a veteran educator who has served O.P. Earle as assistant principal for two years, said the training gave everyone a common language so when administrators walk into the building, they know all teachers share the same foundational knowledge. The ACEs portion of the training resonated with Foster.
“That’s vocabulary some of us had heard and understood, but now when we walk into our building, we know that all of our teachers know the kids bring extra ACEs to the table,” Foster said. “This training in Level 1 has given us more resources to use because we all have our own ACEs, it’s just understanding those ACEs that everyone brings to the table.”
“This training in Level 1 has given us more resources to use because we all have our own ACEs, it’s just understanding those ACEs that everyone brings to the table.”
In the classroom, special education teacher Angie Hatchette, who has taught for 25 years and won O.P. Earle’s Teacher of the Year this year, shared it was initially hard to get on board with the trauma-informed practices. It felt like an extra load on the teachers at first but the “teacher perspective has changed.” She said the mindset has shifted to a teamwork mindset.
“I think in the past we’ve all been very aware, but it’s like today we’re here all together and we’re in this together, hearing the same things, working together for this common goal, to look at ourselves and what we’re doing and how we approach things,” Hatchette said.
“We’re in this together, hearing the same things, working together for this common goal”
Murray made sure to set the tone for this work ahead of the academic year: “We had our first faculty meeting [this week] where I really just sort of set the stage and said: ‘This is what we will be doing,’ and this training gives us reinforcement as to what we said we wanted to see taking place. I think it gives us motivation and is a great way to start the year.”
Key takeaways from the training included a sense of shared energy. Hatchette shared that “as a special ed teacher, I especially think it’s important for all teachers to realize all of our kids are coming from different backgrounds and our brains work in different ways. I really like the piece about the brain and how the brain is working. And when you add in the special ed factor, it adds another whole lay or dimension of problems that our children encounter. I also think that having everyone here, having our principal and assistant principal here, is very motivating for the rest of the staff. We have a common goal.”
Administrators do not always have a presence at the Level 1 trainings, but Foster shared it was important for her and Murray to attend “because we are a family. Because we hold the title as administrators. They’re in the trenches every single day, but we want them to know they have our support and where our hearts are. All of our hearts are working toward the same piece. So, it’s important for them to see us fully engaged in the same expectations we set for them. We want to model those expectations for them.”
“It’s important for them to see us fully engaged in the same expectations we set for them. We want to model those expectations for them.”
CRSC Training Associate Jasmine Stewart shared that the Level 1 training is critical for school staffers. Not only does it provide “a foundational basis of understanding of ACEs, unconscious bias, and self-care, it helps to develop a framework on how we approach the classroom to better relate and discipline our students.” Dr. Parker added: “It provides a new lens with more context about student behavior and learning, while also addressing the strong system of support educators need to be able to sustain the trauma-informed practices.”
To register for an upcoming training, educators can use the button below or get in touch with their principal for more information. Each Spartanburg County school district is represented on the CRSC Advisory Council and the representative shares dates and registration links with each of their school principals. Upcoming Level 1 training opportunities are scheduled for September 14, October 13, and November 16.