This Educational Leadership Portfolio is documentation of my efforts to better understand the perspectives and racialized and gendered lived leadership experiences of Women of Color K-12 educational leaders who work in predominantly White public school systems within a county in a mid-Atlantic state. The problem addressed is that there is too…

The 2022 Legislature required OSPI to promote survivor-centered and trauma-informed responses to sexual assault and to support survivors of sexual assault in Washington's K-12 public schools. OSPI partnered with a contractor to research best practices, review mandatory reporting laws, conduct listening sessions, update model protocols, and develop…

The present study, based on a joint photovoice inquiry by 9 social work educators, set out to examine their real-time lived experiences in the face of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The study was based on a series of group sessions during which 29 photovoice were collected. These served as the basis for a group dialogue about the lecturers'…

This quantitative study explored the relationship between the beliefs of school district superintendents regarding the implementation of trauma-informed strategies and their actions in supporting building principals with the implementation of those strategies within the K-12 school system in New York State. The findings suggest that…

Climate change instruction (CCI) is not a consistent component of the science curriculum in American primary education. When it is taught, students may experience stress during instruction as a result of learning about the historical and future harm to humanity and the earth as a result of climate change. Students may also have direct experience…

First-generation Latinx immigrant youth from the Northern Triangle (NT; El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) face unique risks for experiencing stressors across the phases of migration, which could exacerbate their mental health. This study aimed to (a) identify and characterize unique latent profile groups based on response patterns to immigrant…

Background: The study examined whether school connectedness mediates the association between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and mental health conditions among Indigenous adolescents, and if this mediation varies by school type--Public versus Private/Catholic Methods: Using data from 13 waves of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children…

This study investigates the professional quality of life among 124 K-12 language teachers in the U.S. to explore factors influencing teacher attrition. Participants reported moderate levels of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction, with secondary traumatic stress levels significantly higher than levels reported by…

This study investigates the impact of persistent news coverage of school shootings on adolescent mental health. We surveyed a large, national sample of U.S. adolescents aged 13-17, focusing on the Uvalde school shooting, to explore the link between news exposure and depression. Our findings reveal that such exposure is associated with both…

Children's ability to recognize emotions in the facial expressions of others is critical for their social functioning and self-regulation. Children exposed to adversity often show differences in their ability to recognize emotions. However, most prior research has relied on clinical or high-risk samples and focused on exposure to extreme forms of…

Disciplinary policies in schools throughout the United States disproportionately affect students of color through exclusionary policies. A punitive approach can have detrimental effects on a population that also experiences higher rates of trauma. This article identifies school disciplinary practices that may retraumatize and criminalize youths…

It is the start of another school year, but unlike any other in the careers of teachers. This year, teachers find themselves at the nexus of a widespread, months-old pandemic and racial trauma that is centuries old. Despite this trauma and the uncertainty of resolution, teachers are being asked to step into the actual or virtual classroom, greet…

Objective: To determine whether or not encountering students struggling with nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) put resident assistants (RAs) at greater risk of burnout or secondary traumatic stress. Participants: One hundred and fifty-five RAs at three Midwest public university campuses between March and April 2016. Methods: RAs participated in an…

As an assistant editor in the Photography department at the New York Times, the author manages a team of seven visual editors who assign photographers to stories all over the globe. Recently, one of her team members approached her to let her know that the amount of violence he was subjected to was having an effect on his mental state. It made the…

Life is ever-changing and unpredictable. Because of drastic changes in our society, numerous people are under pressure from various sources at school, in the workplace, or in their families. People need a therapeutic pedagogy to develop the capacity to heal from their traumas. Conventionally, education is assumed to enhance learners'…