Susan Mertz

“Even prior to the tumult of the past two years, students at Evergreen Community Charter School were affected by societal traumas. In 2017-18, according to the school counseling team's data collection, it saw an extreme increase in suicidality (tripled from prior years), trauma (more than quadrupled from prior years), substance abuse issues (almost doubled), and an increase in the number of the students self-harming. The need for social and emotional support has grown exponentially since the pandemic, affecting not only students, but teachers, administrators, and support staff as well. Building Social and Emotional Resiliency at Evergreen will give faculty and associated staff the opportunity to attend Resources for Resilience training to better understand and support the social and emotional needs of Evergreen's students and faculty. Resources For Resilience is a North Carolina based non-profit that works nationally with schools, early learning centers, child-serving agencies, and families to offer trauma-informed and resiliency focused programs. Their mission is to 'share practical tools to build up and support everyone's resilience.' Evergreen hopes to continue an existing partnership with Resources For Resilience in an effort to ensure all faculty and associated staff partake in their Reconnect for Resilience workshops. Some of the school's faculty attended these workshops in the past. However, in order for SEL to become firmly embedded throughout the school, the administration needs to ensure all faculty and associated staff have attended the workshops and are comfortable carrying lessons learned into their classrooms and support duties.”