Trauma-Informed Journey with a Concentration on Equity

Sonia Loskot • Cahn Fellow 2019

As The Leader in Me (LIM) program suggests, change starts with me. I have been inspired to research trauma and equity because of my journey line and trajectory in life. At 14 when my mom abandoned my siblings and me, I became silent and observant of my surroundings, trying to figure out life and witnessing each of my older siblings react to this trauma in a different way than me. Throughout my life as an educator, I have seen students’ reactions such as fight, freeze, or flight and I have been constantly reminded of my siblings and me. I have also witnessed many cases in which students with complex emotional trauma have quickly been labeled as a behavior challenge. Additionally, data at David G. Burnet Elementary presented a trend in which students in our general education population consistently performed lower than their peers. A solution was necessary so educators of all levels could be trained on finding the root cause of such considered negative behaviors and apply social and emotional techniques to create a hopeful learning environment, improve learning and school climate, provide better instruction, and increase parent involvement.