Cleveland Central Promise Neighborhood provides trauma training for educators

Monday, February 25, 2019

Tags: Promise Neighborhood , outreach

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The Cleveland Central Promise Neighborhood is supporting an effort to provide trauma training to educators in Cleveland’s Central Neighborhood. Educators at Alfred A. Benesch School recently resumed training. Trauma training focuses on increasing knowledge and skills for educators to maintain a resilient classroom, which offers the time and space for those affected by trauma to heal and develop new ways to respond to negative thoughts and feelings.

Kim Kiley, therapist and trauma-informed care educator with FrontLine Services, who is also supporting the initiative, provided a better understanding on how the brain of a child who has experienced trauma responds in stressful or uncomfortable events. Together, the group discussed how those responses can present in a classroom setting.

Kiley shared a video that demonstrated an example of what happens when we “flip our lid,” and practices that teachers can encourage students to engage in to center themselves. Teachers left with activities that they could use throughout the school day to strengthen the resiliency of students and themselves as educators as well. Sessions are continuing in February and teacher resiliency training will kick off in the spring.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, which is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, is the lead convener of the Cleveland Central Promise Neighborhood.