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Do you want this experience for your colleagues or district?  Reach out to: mmiller@museumoftolerance.com

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Do you want this experience for your colleagues or district?  Reach out to: mmiller@museumoftolerance.com

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Collective Liberation through Self Care, Collective Care and Freedom Dreaming - CoP with Dr. Dena Simmons

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Collective Liberation through Self Care, Collective Care and Freedom Dreaming - CoP with Dr. Dena Simmons

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By Mathew Portell, Ingrid Cockhren, Dr. Tyisha Noise, Julie Kurtz, Dr. Julie Nicholson, and Alice Blecker

Every school in America has a well-rehearsed plan for earthquakes, fires, or active shooters. Students practice these drills until the steps become second nature, embedding a muscle memory of safety in the body and brain. The goal is simple: in a real crisis, we don't want children's nervous systems to default to fight, flight, or freeze. We want them to lean into the actions that keep them safe. Behaviors that resolve issues in humane ways.

But here's the question no one was asking: why don't we do the same for emotional emergencies?

Children experience stress daily. For some, that stress comes from math tests or playground conflicts. For others, it's much deeper: food insecurity, violence at home or in the community, systemic racism, or trauma. These emotional emergencies trigger the same nervous system responses as a fire alarm or earthquake. The difference is, we haven't been teaching children what to do when their inner alarm goes off.

That's one reason why we wrote Reducing Stress in Schools-to give schools and educators a way to proactively prepare children for the inner storms of stress, just as we prepare them for external disasters.

An Urgent Need to Reduce Stress in Schools

We are living in historic times of stress and trauma. Children, educators, and entire communities are carrying levels of burden that our schools were never designed to hold.

The COVID-19 pandemic, described as the most collective trauma of our lifetime, has exacerbated our societal ills and left profound marks. But the pandemic is just one layer. Since 2020, there has been a rise in political polarization, racial hate crimes, targeted violence against LGBTQIA youth, record levels of hunger and housing insecurity, devastating opioid overdoses, immigration crises, catastrophic weather events, and economic uncertainty. Layer on top of that the chilling reality that the U.S. reached a record high in school shootings, with 40% of educators reporting fears of a mass homicide event at their own school.

Our nation is at a breaking point-and so are our schools.

The Pandemic's Lasting Impact

Research is beginning to reveal the full ripple effects of the pandemic:

Learning Loss & Developmental DelaysLearning loss that began during the pandemic remains a significant challenge. District-level analyses show that recovery has been uneven, with younger students and those from low-income and marginalized communities experiencing the most significant impact with persistent gaps in math and reading (Dewey et al., 2025).

Increased Trauma & Toxic StressThe pandemic heightened children's exposure to illness, grief, caregiver burnout, and economic instability. These adversities activated toxic stress, impairing the very parts of the brain that support learning and regulation.

Rising Mental Health Challenges
Students are not alone in this crisis. In 2023, 1 in 3 (31%) youth ages 12 to 17 had a mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral problem (CAHMI, 2023) and 2 in 5 (40%) high schoolers report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with rates particularly high for girls (53%) and LGBTQ+ youth (65%) (CDC, 2023). Educators, too, are struggling. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the teacher shortage crisis which continues today (Comai, Kemper Patrick, & Tan, 2025). The 2025 State of the American Teacher survey shows that teachers are more likely than similar working adults to report poor well-being on every indicator-a pattern that has remained consistent since 2021 (Steiner, Levine, Doan, & Woo,2025).

Ripple Effects on Families and SchoolsFamilies are stretched thin, balancing work, caregiving, and their own mental health.

The truth is inescapable: we cannot return to business as usual. The collective trauma of the pandemic and other recent events calls for systemic change within our schools.

Who We Wrote It For

This book is dedicated to the true heroes: educators across the globe.

Teachers are the architects of the brain. They lay the neural foundations of resilience, empathy, and hope every day in their classrooms. They may not always feel it, but their presence shapes the emotional blueprint of every child they encounter.

We wrote this for the teacher who feels exhausted and unheard, for the administrator trying to balance safety and compassion, for the school counselor carrying an impossible caseload, and for the paraprofessional who whispers encouragement to a child when no one else notices.

We wrote it because of our unwavering belief in the power of one -one caring adult can change the trajectory of a student's life. This book is a compass for those adults, guiding us toward schools where children are nurtured socially, emotionally, and academically.

There are three core messages threaded through every page of this book:

1. We must disrupt outdated practices.
Despite decades of research showing that harsh discipline, reward charts, and authoritarian control increase stress and trauma, these practices remain entrenched. Too many leaders are still taught that suspensions, expulsions, and restraints are "what principals are supposed to do." We know better now-and when we know better, we must do better.

2. The crisis is real, and urgent.
Toxic stress and trauma are at crisis levels for students, families, and staff. Anxiety, depression, and violence are on the rise. Nearly half of teachers are considering leaving the profession. The urgency to create safer, more supportive environments has never been greater.

3. Science offers us a way forward.
Advances in neuroscience illuminate the intricate relationship between stress, learning, and behavior. They show us that children learn best in the company of caring adults when they feel safe and regulated. By applying what we now know about the brain, we can reimagine schools as spaces of belonging, healing, and humanization-for both students and educators.

At its heart, this book is about shifting from environments that induce stress to ones that reduce it. That single shift can change everything. Students who are unable to access their reflective, thinking brain during stress will be unable to listen and learn.

A New Paradigm for Schools

The future of our children and the retention of our public-school workforce depends on our capacity to shift paradigms. Schools must become environments where reducing stress is a cornerstone for academic success, where belonging is as essential as literacy, and where regulation and resilience are explicitly taught alongside math and science. This kind of paradigm shift requires systemic change to meet the changing dynamics in our society.

We drill children for fires, earthquakes, and active shooters because we know the stakes are life and death. It's time to be just as bold in naming another truth: their emotional well-being carries equally high stakes.

If we prepare children for the fires-both the literal emergencies inside and outside of school and the emotional 'fires' of toxic stress-with the same intention, we can create schools where teaching resilience is as fundamental as teaching reading, and every child has the chance to thrive."
References
American Psychological Association (2024). Stress in America: A nation in political turmoil. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2024/2024-stress-in-america-full-report.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2023). 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Retrieved from https://yrbs-explorer.services.cdc.gov/#/graphs?questionCode=H26&topicCode=C01&location=XX&year=2023

Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI). (2023). 2022-2023 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) data query. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Retrieved [9.15.25], from https://www.childhealthdata.org

Comai, S., Kemper Patrick, S., & Tan, T. (2025). 2025 update: Latest national scan shows teacher shortages persist. Learning Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/2025-update-latest-national-scan-shows-teacher-shortages-persist

Dewey, D., Fahle, E., Kane, T., Reardon, S., & Staiger, D. (2025). Pivoting from pandemic recovery to long-term reform: A district analysis. Education Recovery Scorecard. Retrieved from https://educationrecoveryscorecard.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Pivoting-from-Pandemic-Recovery-to-Long-Term-Reform-A-District-Level-Analysis.pdf

Steiner, E., Levine, P., Doan, S., & Woo, A. (2025). Teacher well-being, pay, and intentions to leave in 2025. Findings from the State of the American Teacher Survey. RAND. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-16.html

About the Authors

Mathew Portell is an elementary school principal in the Metro Nashville Public School system, podcaster, writer, international speaker, and leader of the international Trauma-Informed Educators Network. Ingrid L. Cockhren is an internationally known leader in trauma-informed care and systems transformation with twenty years of experience in childhood development, mental healthcare, PreK-12, higher education, consulting, and nonprofit leadership. Tyisha J. Noise is a practitioner scholar with twenty-four years of experience working with underserved students in nonprofit and educational settings. Julie Kurtz is an international speaker, trainer, coach, and consultant who has collaborated with thousands of educators and administrators to integrate trauma-responsive practices and social-emotional strategies into classrooms, schools, and educational systems. Julie Nicholson is an early childhood expert, keynote speaker, nonprofit leader, coauthor of thirteen books and coeditor of another. Alice Blecker is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Teaching and Learning at NYU Steinhardt, focusing on Early Childhood and Urban Education.

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Why We Wrote Reducing Stress in Schools: Restoring Connection and Community - Harvard Education Press

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Every school in America has a well-rehearsed plan for earthquakes, fires, or active shooters. Students practice these drills until the steps become second nature, embedding a muscle memory of safety in the body and brain.

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Surgeon General's Framework for Mental Health & Well-being at Work 2022

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Surgeon General's Framework for Mental Health & Well-being at Work 2022

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LACOE Equity & Well-being Conference Oct 2025

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LACOE Equity & Well-being Conference Oct 2025

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Freedom Dreaming for Student Success - Jan 2026

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Freedom Dreaming for Student Success - Jan 2026

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2026-01-12 Freedom Dreaming for Student Success

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Freedom Dreaming for Student Success April 2026

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Freedom Dreaming for Student Success April 2026

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Supporting the African American Learner - LACOE 2021

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Supporting the African American Learner - LACOE 2021

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00 Supporting the African American Learner

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Creating Equitable Learning Environments for Young Boys of Color - CDE 2022

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Creating Equitable Learning Environments for Young Boys of Color - CDE 2022

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Creating Equitable Learning Environments for Young Boys of Color CDE 2022 (2)

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Cultural Proficiency Slide Presentation All days

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Cultural Proficiency Slide Presentation All days

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Cultural Proficiency Response Sheet

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Days 1-3 Cultural Proficiency Session@ MoT Oct 20-22, 2025

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Using Mind-Body Practices to Uproot Unconscious Bias in the Education Profession - Dr. Niki Elliott

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Using Mind-Body Practices to Uproot Unconscious Bias in the Education Profession - Dr. Niki Elliott

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TN Using Mind-Body Practices to Uproot Unconscious Bias in the Education Profession Elliott 2021

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Towards a Black Brilliance Praxis of (Re)Centering & (Re)Imagining Blackness in Education 2025

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Towards a Black Brilliance Praxis of (Re)Centering & (Re)Imagining Blackness in Education 2025

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Toward a Black-Brilliance Praxis of (Re)Centering and (Re)Imagining Blackness in Education Vita 2025