Category: School
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Safety First: A quick start guide for parents working to keep their kids safe from restraint, seclusion, suspension, and expulsion
When I held each of my two kids as newborns, I promised to keep each of them as safe as possible. I know that the world isn’t fair and that no parent can (or should) shield their children from all of life’s difficulties, but I thought that since I had a relatively safe childhood, I…
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These Things Go in a Closet
These things go in a closet. Kids don’t belong in a closet in school. These things go in a closet. Putting kids in a closet is cruel. Putting kids in a closet is cruel. Vote to end the seclusion rooms.
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A teacher on a mission to reduce and eliminate restraint and seclusion
I’m a special educator with over ten years of experience working in self-contained alternative classrooms in Arizona and Vermont. When I began my career, I was a teacher who restrained and secluded young children. I was a teacher who couldn’t have done anything differently because I lacked skills. I was new and inexperienced. I didn’t…
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The Impulsive Princess
School is hard. A classmate told my mom I wasn’t a real Princess. My mom said, “How do you know she isn’t a real Princess?” I Iaughed.This Princess is restrained and secluded at school for not listening or not working on boring worksheets or not sitting in my boring chair. Being secluded makes me sad…
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Ending Seclusion: Lessons in advocacy from our friends in New Hanover County, North Carolina
Advocacy is hard work. It takes time, energy, and tremendous dedication, but advocacy can change the world. I began my journey in advocacy by advocating for my son’s needs through the individual education plan (IEP) process at his school. Today the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint advocates for many children worldwide. We advocate for changes…
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Letting Go of Restraint and Seclusion
I was invited to join the Waterbury Area Anti-Racism Coalition (WAARC) in April of this year to discuss the impact of trauma associated with the use of restraint and seclusion, and I have since followed the process of policy review by the Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD). I am impressed by the depth and…
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How proper support and a service dog named Koko helped Mason
Back in the day, I would usually start my IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings with a statement like, “Restraint should be the last resort, or things will go downhill quickly.” Every year it seemed to get worse after the first restraint would happen. It was just the beginning of a long road ahead for my…
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Moving From Nervous System States of Protection to the Nervous System States of Growth
In 1988, Dr. Nicholas Long founded Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) Institute in order to train professionals in effective, strength-based approaches to working with seriously emotionally disturbed children and youth. The “Conflict Cycle” is a part of this creation and has assisted clinicians, educators, and parents in understanding emotional contagion and the co-regulation practices that when…
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An unsafe place for Jane
Growing up, I lived in a very unstable, violent home. I spent too many nights hiding in my bedroom as I listened to fighting in the other room. I know domestic violence and abuse. I know what it is like to have the police in my living room in the middle of the night to…
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An Avoidable Crisis: The Keeping All Students Safe Act (Part 3)
One shift in our mindset can mean the difference in appropriately meeting a child’s needs or potential harm to a child if we ask the question “why” and “why now” (Dr. Stuart Shanker). This curiosity means the difference between a child receiving empathy and support versus punishment and consequences. Again are these lucky or unlucky…