Category: Business

8 Steps to Building a Trauma-Informed School: A new youtube series

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Consulting, Social Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Care

I’m excited to announce my brand new YouTube series – 8 Steps to Building a Trauma-Informed School. This series of 9 videos will begin with an overview of the 8 steps, and then subsequent videos will dive deeper into each step individually.

In each video, you can expect to learn more about each step and what it takes to accomplish it. This series is great for administrators, school counselors and educators who are interested in learning more about the steps needed to create cultural change in the school environment. Even if you aren’t prepared to tackle a huge, new initiative, I encourage you to check out the videos to gauge your own schools’ strengths and areas of need.

If you are ready to tackle a trauma-informed school initiative, send me an email at akedconsult@gmail.com. I will soon be opening up registration for 1 and 2 year partnerships that will kick off in August 2023 and spots will be limited!

My favorite professional books and podcasts

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Social Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Care

I love to read. A lot. I also love listening to podcasts, especially when I’m traveling. Most of what I read and listen to (at least for professional purposes) is on topics like trauma, resilience and mindfulness.

My most recent read (and possibly, my favorite) was “What My Bones Know” by Stephanie Foo. It’s a memoir on the author’s history of trauma and her journey to find healing. She also incorporates a good amount of science and research into her writing. I truly believe this book is a must-read for parents, teachers or anyone who works with children in some capacity.

Since I often get asked for recommendations on books from teachers and school counselors, I decided to put together a list of some of my favorite professional books and podcasts. Much like the SEL picture book list (which you can find here), this list will be an ever-growing Google Doc. As I read and listen, I will add to it. Check it out and bookmark it so you know where to find it, and if you have suggestions of books I need to read or podcasts I need to listen to, send them my way!

Find the professional book and podcast list here. Enjoy!

New Training Announcement!

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Social Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Care

Do your students struggle to control their brains and bodies? Do your teachers need tools to proactively engage disruptive or defiant students? Do you want calmer, more productive classrooms?My new training will help you address all this and more!

What will you learn during this training?

  1. What emotional regulation is and how we can help students achieve it
  2. Why some students struggle to self-regulate
  3. Why brains on stress can’t learn
  4. The importance of mind-body skills
  5. Dozens of mind-body skills that can be easily used in the classroom

What else will you get from this training?

  1. Access to a Google folder full of aligned resources
  2. An electronic workbook with dozens of mind-body activities and directions for use
  3. Ongoing support from me

Many of our students are lacking the skills to express their emotions appropriately. This results in disruptive behaviors, chaotic classrooms and stressed out teachers. If you’re looking for a way to empower your teachers, decrease behavior referrals and increase academic achievement, this training is for you. Let me help you make this a reality for your school! Contact me today through my website or at akedconsult@gmail.com.

De-Escalation and Mindfulness Strategies for Kids

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business

One of the most popular trainings I do is all about teaching kids strategies for calming down. Why? Because one of the most widespread effects of the pandemic on our children was stress and anxiety which has lead to them having the inability to regulate their emotions. For many kids, this was difficult prior to the pandemic, but now it is the chief concern for most teachers and administrators I talk to.

In light of what our kids have experienced over the past couple of years, it is critical that we give them the tools to understand what they are feeling, why they are feeling it and what to do about those feelings. They need to be explicitly taught strategies for calming down when they are escalated, as well as strategies for helping to keep their brain and body calm.

Fortunately, this training covers exactly how to do that, in addition to:

  1. What is happening in the brain when we become escalated
  2. How to strengthen the neural pathways in the brain to be more reflective
  3. The similarities and differences between de-escalation and mindfulness strategies
  4. How to recognize, identify and label emotions
  5. Dozens of simple strategies kids (and grown-ups!) can use to calm down

If you want to give your students a toolbox full of strategies to self-regulate, as well as better understand what is happening in their brain when they become escalated, this is the perfect training for you. Reach out to me at akedconsult@gmail.com to get more details.

10 Strategies for Building a More Trauma-Informed Classroom

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Consulting

My flagship, and most popular, training is 10 Strategies for Building a More Trauma-Informed Classroom. This training covers a LOT of material and is a great introduction for teachers and school staff who do not have a lot of experience with trauma-informed practices in the school environment. Not only will teachers get a solid foundation in what trauma-informed care looks like in a classroom and why it is critical to the success of their students, but they will also walk away with a toolbox full of strategies that they can begin using immediately. These strategies don’t cost a lot of money or take a lot of time to implement. They are simple, common sense strategies that are just best practice for ALL kids.

Additionally, this training will cover:

  1. The 3 Types of Trauma
  2. Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs)
  3. Characteristics of Trauma
  4. How Trauma Impacts the Brain, Learning and Behavior
  5. Trauma-Informed Discipline
  6. Mindfulness and De-Escalation Strategies
  7. 10 Strategies for Building a More Trauma-Informed Classroom
  8. How to Get Started

If you are looking to give your teachers a toolbox full of strategies to help them have a successful year with students, particularly struggling students, this training is a great place to begin. It is typically a 6 hour training but topics can be added or subtracted, as necessary. This training is also great done in smaller 1-2 chunks during monthly staff meetings. Contact me today for more information or to schedule your next professional development.

New Training Announcement! – Fostering family engagement within your school

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Consulting, Parenting, Social Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Care

I’m so excited to roll out my brand new training just in time for the beginning of the school year! This training is a critical component of building a trauma-informed school (see step #6 below).

There’s been a lot of chatter online lately about the difference between parent involvement and family engagement in schools (and yes, there is a huge difference!). Traditionally, schools have considered parents to be involved when they volunteer in the classroom, attend field trips or send in classroom donations. These things are great (and necessary!), but they do not necessarily equate to parents and caregivers being in true collaboration with the school. Additionally, this type of “involvement” is often exclusive to parents who have the time and financial means to participate in their child’s education in this way.

If your school is instead looking to partner with ALL families in a meaningful way by building strong relationships, engaging them in the curriculum and providing tools for helping children at home, this training is for you!

A few things you will learn during this training include:

  1. Specific strategies for engaging families as your partner in educating their child
  2. Tips to streamline family-school communication to reach more families
  3. Steps to establish a parent outreach coordinator or team
  4. How to host family workshops and interactive events that provide caregivers the tools and strategies to help their child academically, behaviorally and social-emotionally
  5. Strategies for building strong relationships between teachers, students and caregivers

This training is designed for teachers and other school staff. It can be done as a stand-alone 2, 4 or 6 hour professional development or as a partnership, in conjunction with a combination of my parent workshops (see informational flyer below).

If you’re ready to join the thousands of educators (and parents!) who have benefited from my trainings and expertise, send me an email at akedconsult@gmail.com. Let me help you build a trauma-informed school!

5 Ways to Address Mental Health Awareness Month with kids (Plus a freebie!)

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Parenting, Social Emotional Learning

Download and print this infographic, highlighting 5 ways you can address Mental Health Awareness month with kids in the classroom or at home!

mha-month-kids-infographic-1Download

New Training Announcement! 6 Strategies for building strong connections with kids

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Social Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Care

I’m so excited to announce my newest training – 6 Strategies for Building Strong Connections with Kids. As I talk about in all my other trainings, building strong relationships is really the foundation for all trauma-informed care, particularly in schools.

We cannot expect to get anywhere with the students or kids we work with without first building a relationship based on mutual trust, respect and compassion. This relationship becomes the basis for digging deeper into a child’s past experiences to better understand their words, actions and behaviors. By doing this, we can then provide them with the supports they need most and set them up for success in their school and home environments.

This professional development will cover the benefits of strong relationships for both children and adults and 6 key strategies that can be used to build, strengthen and maintain strong relationships with kids. This training is applicable to just about anyone who works with kids, from teachers and social workers to school counselors and childcare workers.

The strategies that are covered (in much greater detail) are:

  1. Know Their Story
  2. Be Human
  3. We are Family
  4. Build Them Up
  5. Thoughtfully Interact
  6. Be an Advocate

Interested in learning more? Send me an email at akedconsult@gmail.com.

New Training! – Building Emotional Intelligence Through Social-Emotional Learning

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Social Emotional Learning

I’m so excited to introduce my newest trauma-informed schools training: Building Emotional Intelligence Through Social-Emotional Learning!

Since 2011, emotional intelligence levels have been declining across the globe. What does this mean? It means that our ability to be self-aware, feel motivation and to self-regulate, show empathy and communicate effectively is worsening. For children, this may result in a lack of understanding of emotions and the inability to correctly identify and appropriately express these feelings.

The great news about emotional intelligence is that it is not static! We can actually build our EQ muscles through a multitude of strategies. One of the most beneficial ways to do this in a school is through the implementation of social-emotional learning skills.

In this training, you will learn all about the topics above and so much more, including:

  1. What is Emotional Intelligence?
  2. The importance/benefits of Emotional Intelligence
  3. The 5 components of Emotional Intelligence
  4. Specific strategies for building Emotional Intelligence
  5. Helping students recognize, identify and regulate their emotions
  6. De-escalation and mindfulness strategies
  7. The 11 key areas of Social-Emotional Learning
  8. Specific strategies for building SEL skills

Want to learn more or get a training scheduled? Contact Alisa today at akedconsult@gmail.com.

New Resource! – Building a Trauma-Informed Classroom Video Series

Posted on by alisakaczorowski in Business, Consulting, Social Emotional Learning
Get the video series here!

Are you ready to build a more trauma-informed classroom or school? If so, this video series is for you. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, school counselor or support staff member, there is something for everyone in these courses.

In this series, I will take you through the basics of trauma, how trauma impacts students in the school setting and specific strategies you can implement to help build resilience in your students.

Course 1 focuses on understanding the basics of trauma in our society, why schools should be trauma-informed and how to recognize the characteristics of trauma in children of various ages.

Course 2 focuses on understanding how traumatic experiences impact the brain and learning. You will learn how the flight/fight/freeze response works, how the stress response can be turned off and the benefits of mindfulness.

Course 3 focuses on understanding how traumatic experiences impact student behavior and how to implement a more trauma-informed classroom management system. You will learn about private logic and how that drives behavior and how to evaluate the pros and cons of the classroom management system you use.

Course 4 focuses on 10 specific strategies that can be used to build a more trauma-informed classroom. You will learn about the guiding principle of all 10 trauma-informed practices and reflect on the culture and climate of your own classroom in order to assess where improvements can be made.

Be sure to check out the video series bundle here, as well as all the resources in my TPT store that support the content in the videos!