Every child has the innate ability to thrive, but many are held back by the formidable forces of trauma. Too many of our students bring the traumas of poverty, racism, stress, and family and community violence with them into our classrooms.

If teachers, administrators, and other school staff aren’t equipped to hold space for them in a loving, compassionate, empathetic, and supportive way, their entire life trajectories can be impacted. In this thoughtful book for educators, Marcia Ranglin-Vassell brings to life a pathway for transforming schools from the inside out, making classrooms havens for teaching, learning, and healing.

Through her personal narrative and firsthand experiences as a teacher and educational leader, Ranglin-Vassell not only shows us what we need to know about children’s trauma, but also presents simple, easy-to-implement ideas and approaches that can make an immediate difference to children regardless of age, race, ethnic background, or socio-economic status. Regardless of their life experiences, all children are beautiful, whole, and resilient.

Our job isn’t to fix them, but to believe in them and guide them towards a brighter path, because our future rests in their hands. .