News & Insights

Whew, where has the time gone? Summer break is over, and schools have opened across the country. Amidst the excitement and some trepidation, we all have returned to classrooms with mixed feelings. Usually, The Institute would have sent newsletters, posted on social media, or sent resources at the beginning of this month, especially during, yet again, another school shooting. This school year begins a bit slower for us here at The Institute because I am trying to figure out how we can return.

I took an unapologetic summer sabbatical for the first time since The Institute was founded, meaning I did nothing from June through August. It was beautiful. There was simply silence, stillness. The summer came and wrapped me in rest.

On July 2nd, the Institute celebrated four years of community work and education transformation. As the one who simply helps to guide the vision of the Institute, it has been an honor to do this work for four years, but it has not been easy. There have been so...

After voting at my local elementary school on Tuesday, I was walking to my car when there was a drive-by shooting in the area. The screams of children running to safety will forever live burned in my memories. My heart broke for them. 

I wondered how teachers, students, administrators, and staff responded to the incident. How did they care for students and themselves? Did students have places to process? Did the adults have a place to process? Did they go back to business as usual? 

As an adult, I read about the effects and impacts of trauma, and even I struggled to process what happened. I could not get back to my usual daily rhythm. If I was struggling, I could only imagine what those children were feeling….

Often, when we talk about gun violence and schools, we focus on school shooters. But what about the moments when students witness gun violence within their communities? Where is their refuge? 

When schools lean into the toxic tropes that Black &...