Nearly every teacher will experience loss and grief during their years in the classroom. And yet, too often the profession assumes that English language arts (ELA) teachers must hide the emotions that accompany loss. In this article the authors share strategies for supporting English teachers in making sense of their grieving experiences and…

Scholarship in English Education has suggested that English teachers can invite experiences of death and loss into English classrooms as part of curricular engagement because students' identities and experiences should be witnessed in classrooms (e.g., Dutro, 2019). Scholarship on literature response and instruction has emphasized that readers…

It is well documented that loss and trauma may lead to a reduction in school grades and an increase in the school dropout rate among school children. However, in order for the schools to support students in the best way after trauma and loss, it is of great importance that teachers are aware of these problems. In this study, we investigated the…

As the school year begins, staff at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) would like to offer all school personnel (including educators, administrators, counselors and support staff) the opportunity to use their many resources for schools! Their resources were created to highlight issues related to trauma, to explain how trauma can…

Students are not numbers, and schools do more than just teach academic skills. In this article, the author offers some advice for helping adolescents confront the profound questions of life. The author's school, Souhegan High School in Amherst, New Hampshire, is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, an organization built on a shared…