Beginning Within

“Beginning Within: Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices was a true joy to read. Having recently launched a department focused on student support and behavioral concerns, it validated what I’ve experienced working with college students and colleagues. It is so important that students feel a sense of belonging and connectedness to enhance their academic success. This book offers thoughtful reflections on just how important this is, how implementing small changes can make a big difference, and helped me see my own challenges from a new perspective. The recommendation to read it with colleagues really could not have been more true for me —At our next staff meeting, I brought up how great of a read it was and that our team should review it together. There were even a few passages I marked to show colleagues because it echoed conversations we recently had.”

Kristine Bogue, M.S., Director of Student Compliance/Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Jefferson College

“As a 30+ year educator, this book, Beginning Within: Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices, reinforced many of the challenges and issues that I have faced in the educational world. It offers a powerful lens into the intersection of trauma, equity, and systemic change in education. Grounded in the voices and experiences of a variety of authors, its reflections are both personal and practical, honoring lived experiences while offering pathways for transformation. It reminded me why I became a teacher in the first place: to help create a safe, just, and empowering space for all students. This is essential reading for any educator committed to trauma-informed educational practices seeking organizational change.”

Dr. Mollie Bolton, Chief of Teaching, Learning & Accountability, Special School District of St. Louis County

“With a poignant urgency evident in this compendium, readers will gain the authors' collective wisdom of the complexity of childhood trauma and an evidence-based, yet relatable, framework for responding. Perspectives on trauma ingrained in self-care, to trauma rooted in children's communities, to trauma present on university and systemic levels are woven seamlessly together, giving readers both an empirical and deeply humane understanding of being trauma informed. Anyone that supports students will identify with this book's insight and will feel compelled to act.”

Jennifer Heithaus, MD, Associate Professor, Director, Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Fellowship Director, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Saint Louis University School of Medicine

“The impact of trauma is seen in every school building across the United States. The authors of Beginning Within: Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices share research and personal experiences regarding equity, safety and organizational change. This is a recommended read for educators who want to gain a new perspective on practices within their work, including students across all levels, so they may foster healing, growth and ultimately, the ability to thrive.”

Dr. Deanne McCullough, Director of Trauma-Informed Programs, Missouri Baptist University, St. Louis MO

“From an educator's perspective, this book is as relevant as it gets. We are not only teaching reading and math but educating our students in how to manage life. From a behaviorist's perspective, it highlights the dynamic shift in how we define and address behavior in the classroom. What used to be a straightforward assignment of behavioral function to one of four categories (tangible, sensory, attention, escape) is now a complex web of experiences and emotions that changes how we mediate behaviors. The practical applications provided in this book are essential tools for all educators and behavior analysts in today's culture and are paving the way for all schools to become truly trauma-informed.”

Christea Reiser, Ed.S., BCBA, Hillsboro RIII School District, Hillsboro MO

“Beginning Within: Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices is a groundbreaking text that moves the education field into the forefront of best practice. This text provides exceptional insight for teachers, administrators, education students, and their partners, including mental health professionals and students on the movement of trauma-informed education. As society moves through the post-COVID era, the authors consider the impact of the pandemic on students and faculty, as well as adverse childhood events and community violence. Their trauma-informed approach of taking a lived experience perspective at every level, from elementary school through college, maintains the reader’s emotional involvement, making this text unique in two ways. The reader can connect to genuine examples of teachers and students who have experienced different types of trauma and adverse childhood events, learning from first-hand examples the importance of trauma-informed education. These examples from classroom practice also demonstrate key tenets of trauma-informed care, establishing that the authors are truly living what they are exploring and explaining, helping the reader see that trauma-informed education is not a buzzword but a way-of-life, essential for today’s schools. While lived examples are an emotion-evoking core component of the text, key theories are pulled through with research to prove the grounding and validity of the need for equitable, trauma-informed models described throughout the text. As one of the contributors to the Missouri Model of Trauma-Informed Care and a former social work professor, I highly endorse Beginning Within as a primary text for trauma-informed education.”

Heidi Strickler, PhD, LCSW-S, CEDS-C, CART, CTLS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction
Joanne Fish and Jamie Doronkin

Chapter 1
Systems Theory—Embedding the Culture of Trauma-Informed Education: Reviewing a Decade of Work Since the August 2014 Ferguson Missouri Shooting
Patricia Carter and Jennifer Brinkmann

Chapter 2
The Impact of Urgency Culture on Self-Care
Jamie Doronkin

Chapter 3
Undoing Urgency: Resisting Neoliberalism in Higher Education
Corinne Wohlford Mason

Chapter 4
Understanding Elementary Student-Perceived Impact of Complex Trauma and Toxic Stress Response on Learning
Joanne Fish

Chapter 5
Designing a Classroom Space for Middle School Students to Experience Empowerment Through Choices
Haley Porter

Chapter 6
Creating Equity with Secondary Students Who Have Experienced Personal or Community Trauma by Using a Bifocal Perspective
Keona Griffin-King

Chapter 7
“If My Teacher Had Known”—College Students’ Reflective Perceptions about Sharing Challenging Events with Middle or High School Teachers
Joanne Fish and Jamie Doronkin

Chapter 8
Belonging, Trauma, and Resilience: Creating a School Environment that Celebrates Human Connection Using a Multisystemic Approach
Renata Sledge

Chapter 9
The Realities of Trauma-Informed Practices: Teachers’ Perspectives
Katherina Roeder

Chapter 10
Developing A University Peer Support Allies Program to Address Student Mental Health
Amy Ruffus-Doerr

Chapter 11
The Journey Toward Becoming Truly Trauma-Informed
Jamie Doronkin and Joanne Fish

Editor and Author Biographies

Index

NOTE: Table of Contents subject to change up until publication date.

Joanne C. Fish

Joanne Fish, PhD, is an Associate Dean of Humanities at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri. She has worked in education for the past two decades. Before assuming her current role as Associate Dean, Dr. Fish worked in teacher preparation for ten years and, in multiple settings, has researched trauma’s impact on learning. She is also a reading specialist who has worked with elementary, middle school, secondary, and college students who have found reading challenging. She holds a PhD in literacy education from the University of Missouri–Columbia, a master’s degree in education from William Woods University in Fulton, MO, and a master’s degree in communication and a bachelor’s degree in English from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS. She enjoys spending time with her grown children: Tabitha, Kiefer, and Savanna, as well as each of her three grandchildren: Sylei, Landon, and Lyncoln. Dr. Fish lives in St. Louis, MO.

Jamie Doronkin

Jamie Doronkin, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Instructor at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, MO. She most recently served as the Director for the Fontbonne EdD Program in Collaborative High Impact Instruction and was the co-developer of the EdD program at Fontbonne. Dr. Doronkin has earned dual bachelor’s degrees in special education and Elementary Education from Oklahoma Christian University, a master’s degree in special education from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a doctoral degree in Special Education with a secondary transition focus from the University of Oklahoma. Research interests for Dr. Doronkin include trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive educator preparation practices, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), adverse community experiences, and the impact of these adverse experiences on learning and brain development. Dr. Doronkin has presented locally, regionally, and nationally on self-care survival strategies; IEP meeting behaviors; and family and sibling disability-related dynamics that include the impact of trauma, transition into adulthood, and self-determination and self-advocacy for individuals with disabilities. Her most recent studies and training include body-centered and somatic movement therapy practices.