Building a Trauma-Informed Classroom Community
The beginning of a new school year often comes with nerves and anxiety. This year, those feelings are elevated for many youth. After the last year and a half of disrupted learning and the pandemic-related trauma that students and families may have faced, students are entering the classroom with more needs than ever before. Before they can thrive academically, educators must first create a compassionate and supportive environment to ensure that students feel safe and ready to learn.
Join this 60-minute webinar where we will discuss:
- What data says about the youth mental health crisis facing educators;
- Why prioritizing students’ physical and emotional safety, security, and well-being matters; and
- Techniques you can use to empower students, manage behavior, and cultivate a strong classroom community.
This webinar will be recorded and available to the public within one week. We do not offer CEUs, but certificates of attendance will be available upon request after the event.
Meet the Speakers
Emily Skehill is the Manager of Public Education and Awareness at Mental Health America (MHA). She develops digital content to support individuals seeking mental health resources. She also conducts research to inform MHA’s awareness efforts, including toolkits for Mental Health Month, Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (also known as BIPOC Mental Health Month), Back to School, and National Family Caregivers Month. Her current work is heavily focused on the mental health effects of COVID-19, with an emphasis on social disconnection, adapting after trauma, and family dynamics.
Emily graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Communication Studies and Psychology. Her lived mental health experience has made her a passionate advocate for stigma reduction, child mental health, and increased access to services.
Kate Skehill is a lead teacher at East Falmouth Elementary School, a public, Title I school. She has 20 years of experience teaching in an inclusion classroom, developing, differentiating, and implementing curriculum. She holds a professional license in Elementary Education with a Sheltered English Immersion Endorsement from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.
Kate has experience in social-emotional learning, including trauma-sensitive classrooms, Calmer Choice, and PeaceBuilder methodologies, and uses many self-developed strategies based on her experiences with students facing social-emotional disabilities, trauma, and mental health challenges. She strives to create a positive classroom community that establishes physical and social-emotional safety for students while offering them autonomy and empowerment. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kate has had the opportunity to teach fully virtual, hybrid, and fully in-person learning and takes pride in successfully navigating the challenges that students, families, and school staff have faced during the pandemic. She has a passion for mental health awareness, outdoor learning, and anything science!