Be The Champion

For the final episode of the season, Marie and Ailish join from their respective homes to describe their next steps in their careers, the future of TLC at KIPP, and lessons learned from the process of creating this podcast. Listen closely - you might get a hint about what's to come in Season 2!

Listen the first installment of the TLC-sponsored book study (recorded in February 2021). In this special episode, members of the KIPP Collegiate community discuss Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's book "The Body Keeps the Score" and how his lessons could apply to our school's practices. Each staff member contributes valuable insights from their own unique perspective; you won't want to miss this lively collaboration! 

Brittany Middlebrooks and Katie Fey have heard the call to action and are kickstarting their own Trauma-Informed Leadership Committee at KIPP Academy Nashville, our flagship middle school. Hear from them about the process of building their new organization, the importance of long-term buy-in to create systems change, and what puberty does to middle schoolers.

Join us for a conversation with De'Montay, a senior at KIPP whose self-awareness and intrinsic motivation shine, despite having experienced his fair share of pandemic-related trauma. We discuss online learning, the struggle of disrupted routines, and the thrill of seeing how tall your teachers actually are after a year of Zoom.

Near the end of the episode, listen for an overview of the Trauma-Informed Leadership Committee's accomplishments over the past year, as well as what's next for our organization and our school.

As white educators, we know that we cannot speak about trauma without addressing how race and trauma intersect.

Members of the Trauma-Informed Leadership Committee Ailish Dougherty, Marie Papini, Assistant Principal of Culture Kristen Sueing, and Assistant Principal of Student Support Laura Bantle sit down for a "behind-the-scenes" conversation addressing blind spots in our previous episode, as well as in the broader discussion around 'trauma-informed education.' We hope that this episode will allow other educators to use their platforms to highlight this kind of accountability, to seek a more just world alongside our students.

You may be wondering how to make sure students are still held accountable behaviorally and academically while implementing trauma-informed practices. Our Assistant Principals of Culture and Student Support are here to answer some of those questions and describe the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in service of student success!

What do an Assistant Principal of STEM, a 10th grade Literature teacher, a College Counselor, and a first-year Spanish teacher have in common?

Join us for a conversation with four educators from KIPP Collegiate High School, diverse in experience and perspective, as they share how trauma-informed practices have shaped their view of the education system and their place within it. Walk away from this episode with concrete strategies you can use in your classroom, tomorrow.

In this episode, Vanessa shares with us her experience coming to terms with a traumatic event that occurred during her freshman year. Her vulnerability, courage and resilience is something you don't want to miss.

Crisis Hotline: text "HOME" to 741741

In this episode, join us for a (socially-distanced) conversation with three of our KIPP Nashville Collegiate high schoolers - Vanessa, Cyriah, and Kevin - in which we discuss the ways trauma surfaces for our students, the support they've received from teachers and mentors, and how they feel coming to a trauma-informed school each day. Also, it wouldn't be a discussion with teenagers if we didn't touch on cafeteria lasagna and Tik Tok dances.

Welcome to "Be The Champion!" We are Marie (school counselor and self-care expert) and Ailish (writing teacher and passionate advocate), and we want to give a new perspective on the successes and challenges of creating trauma-informed infrastructure within a high school. Join us!