Teaching Through Trauma

When New Orleans native Towana Pierre Floyd joined the TFA GNO corps in 2005, she had no idea how challenging and illuminating her journey as an educator would be. From being a teacher during Hurricane Katrina to a school leader at Frederick A. Douglass High School navigating COVID-19 and the destruction of Hurricane Ida, Towana shares her valuable lessons and insights into the importance of community-wide leadership to combat the impacts of trauma on students.

When schools and communities must face the impacts of trauma, what tools and resources can they use to support their students and families? In this episode, Mary Bliss McCrossen asks three Teach For America alumnae educators about their different approaches to trauma-informed practices and explores the key ingredient to supporting their students - building relationships. Featuring Taylor Anderson, Dana Cager, and Liz Marcell Williams; Produced by Jonathan Bertsch and sponsored by Entergy.

For more information on trauma-informed practices, check out Safe Schools NOLA (https://safeschoolsnola.tulane.edu/) and Center for Resilience (https://www.cfrla.org/). You can also see a list of mental health resources here: https://bit.ly/mntlhlthresources. 

Mary Bliss McCrossen explores the questions - What happens when the trauma support services that schools provide are not enough? Or when teachers are grappling with the effects of their own trauma while trying to support their students? TFA GNO alumni Dr. Christopher Mayes and Brian Duplantier share how they have processed the trauma of Hurricane Katrina and how their experiences have informed how they support their students who are experiencing trauma from the COVID-19 pandemic and current events. Produced by Jonathan Bertsch and sponsored by Entergy.