Welcome! 

Welcome to Alex's Book Club, where we get together to read a book I love about trauma-informed education. Our inaugural selection is Trauma-Responsive Schooling: Centering Student Voice and Healing by Lyn Mikel Brown, Catharine Biddle, and Mark Tappan. 

This series meets on Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15 and 22 from 7:00 to 8:30pm EASTERN time on Zoom.

About the book:

Here's what I had to say when I finished reading this book: 

What does it look like when schools truly center student voice? How can healing happen when we involve students in school change? What happens when the adults ask for student voice but then refuse to listen? This excellent book explores these questions and more. It's a narrative of two elementary schools working with the TREE project for trauma-responsive and equitable school change. I loved that the book focused on specific practices and how to do them, but also on the challenges and failures of the collaboration. This would make a great read for a school starting out on a school change process- read and discuss what went right and wrong with the schools in this narrative, and how you want your school to respond in the face of the same challenges. Also, the writing in this book is beautiful. I talk a lot about how trauma-informed education texts often promote saviorism. This book shows how we can talk about trauma in a deeply asset-based way, really honoring children and families. It reminded me a lot of Carla Shalaby's Troublemakers - lovely narrative writing threaded through with commentary and insight.

I'm so excited to read this book with other educators and discuss how we can apply its lessons to our own teaching. 

About the book club series:

Our book club series will be a pay-what-you-can, four-session series on Zoom (90 minutes per session). You should join if:

• You are a teacher, counselor, school leader, or other educator
• You are interested in trauma-informed education, student voice, or equity
• You enjoy asking questions, making meaning, and reflection
• You want to learn with and from other educators through discussion

While the book focuses on a case study of rural elementary schools, I think it's applicable to many age levels and settings. The book club series is open to all.

We will be discussing approximately 40 pages per week. It's a pretty quick and engaging read.

Each session will open with a short grounding moment and connection activity. We'll then interact with the book in a variety of ways: reflective writing, small group discussion, inquiry-based activities, and more. Each session may look a little different depending on the content of the book and the people in our group.

Throughout the series, we'll generate a collaborative Google doc with resources and ideas inspired by our learning.

The series is facilitated by Alex Venet (me). I'll bring my background knowledge of trauma-informed education together with my facilitation skills to craft a group experience that will help us get the most out of this wonderful text.

Note: we'll be discussing chapters 1 and 2 during session 1, so start reading :) 

Some things to know:

• Registration does not include a copy of the book. You can purchase or borrow a copy through your local bookstore or library or any major bookseller online.
  
• The series is designed for participants to attend all four sessions. You are welcome to register if you know you are going to miss one week, but there won't be a recording of the session you missed.
• You'll be able to access the zoom link on this site after you register. Alex will also email it as a reminder the day of the event.
• Time is 7pm to 8:30pm Eastern time.
• PD certificates will be emailed at the end of the series.
• Registration is pay-what-you-can. If you're able to contribute more than the suggested fee, you help support others to access the event.
• Accessibility: auto-generated captions will be turned on in Zoom. Participants will not be required to turn on their cameras. Participation is welcome through speaking, writing in the chat, and interactive activities we'll do in Google docs/Jamboard/etc. If you require ASL interpretation, please let me know and I will arrange for this. Email me with any other accessibility needs: Alex@UnconditionalLearning.org 

About Alex: Alex Shevrin Venet is an educator, author, and professional development facilitator living in Vermont. You can learn more at unconditionallearning.org