Trauma-Sensitive Schools for the Adolescent Years: Promoting Resiliency and Healing, Grades 6–12

by Susan E. Craig, Jim Sporleder (Foreword)

In this follow-up to her bestseller, Trauma-Sensitive Schools, Susan Craig provides secondary school teachers and administrators with a trauma-sensitive approach to instruction that will improve students’ achievement. The text provides an overview of the effects of three types of trauma on adolescent development: early childhood adversity, community violence, and systemic inequities.

Book Features:

Provides an overview of the effects of three types of trauma on adolescent development: early childhood adversity, community violence, and systemic inequities. Links the effects of trauma on students’ cognitive development to educational reform efforts. Integrates research on adolescents’ neurodevelopment and current educational best practices. Builds the capacity of education professionals to successfully manage the behavior of adolescents with symptoms of complex developmental trauma.

“Susan Craig’s book provides the scientific evidence and the reasons why it is so critical that schools take this new path in serving our students.”
—From the Foreword by Jim Sporleder, principal profiled in the documentary Paper Tigers

“A uniquely comprehensive and accessible resource for all educators and school administrators.”
—Eric Rossen, National Association of School Psychologists

“An in-depth look into the impact of trauma on the adolescent brain along with ideas about how educators can support student learning. This is an essential book for any secondary educator or administrator.”
—Sara Daniel, director of clinical services, SaintA, Milwaukee, WI

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 8, 2017

About the author

Susan E. Craig, PhD, completed her doctorate in sociology at the University of New Hampshire and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Miami. She is a lifelong student of early trauma and its effects on children’s learning. Her teaching experience, as well as years of on-site training and technical assistance to school districts throughout the country, provides the context for her advocacy for trauma-sensitive educational reform.

Dr. Craig began her writing career in 1992 with an article in Phi Delta Kappan describing the educational needs of children living with violence. This work received special notice in the now famous “purple book” Helping Traumatized Children Learn (2005) published by Massachusetts Advocates for Children: Trauma and Policy Initiative. Her book Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt: Strategies for Your Classroom (2008) is a bestseller among teachers and administrators, who use it to guide their efforts to make schools more accessible to children with challenging behaviors. In 2013, Dr. Craig was among those interviewed in the Safe Start National Resource Center series profiling women who have made an impact on the issue of children’s exposure to violence.

Dr. Craig is an avid blogger and sought-after public speaker. Her blog, www.meltdownstomastery.wordpress.com, covers topics of interest to educators working with traumatized children.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for administrators and teacher education instructors to read. It gives a strong overview of the science of how trauma impacts teens, and best practices for supporting their growth and healing in school. I wouldn't recommend this as a "First read" for a teacher getting started with trauma-informed practice, but it's a great "dig deeper" text.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and give suggestions on how to transform a school into a trauma-sensative school. There are pages of additional resources for further professional development.

[Jennifer Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful...but I did read it for a class.

[Heather Josephine Pue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for secondary educators. A quick, easy read which gets at the heart of how trauma impacts our students and what we can do about it.