Statewide trauma screenings will begin in January and are eagerly awaited by educators, many of whom have watched traumatized students struggle in class.
LOS ANGELES (July 10, 2019) – It’s an epidemic – kids in a state of trauma. The causes range from living in an abusive home, poverty and teen pregnancy to being bullied, unstable foster care and homelessness. These all-too-common situations create chronic trauma that interfere with a child’s ability to learn and function in school. Trauma can cause anxiety, impulsivity, aggression, sleep problems, depression and physical ailments.
The recently appointed Surgeon General of California, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, is recognized as a pioneer in the study of how these experiences can affect children’s developing brains and cause a number of lifelong health and mental health problems. She’s been instrumental in developing screening tools pediatricians will use to help determine whether children need mental health counseling or preventative treatments to help them avoid some long-term effects caused by trauma.
Learn4Life, a network of 80+ nonprofit high schools that primarily focuses on serving students who suffer from some kind of trauma, applauds Burke Harris for taking action and addressing this important topic. Learn4Life’s unique model centers around the social-emotional needs of the students first while following trauma-informed guidelines of the nationally recognized Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Connection.
Teachers and counselors at Learn4Life find that a trauma-informed (TI) approach to learning is showing amazing results. “An essential component is teaching kids coping skills and anger management so they develop resiliency to handle life’s ups and downs even after they graduate from our program,” explained Craig Beswick, TI educator with Learn4Life. “Once the trauma-induced symptoms are addressed, the students’ learning capacity greatly increases.”
The statewide trauma screenings will begin in January and are eagerly awaited by educators, many of whom have watched traumatized students struggle in class.
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About Learn4Life: Learn4Life is a network of nonprofit public schools that provides students personalized learning, career training and life skills. Each school is locally controlled, tuition free and gives students the flexibility and one-on-one attention they need to succeed. Serving more than 40,000 students across California, we help students prepare for a future beyond high school.
MEDIA CONTACT
Ann Abajian, Learn4Life
(844) 515-8186
[email protected]