HEALING CENTERED ENGAGEMENT
WHAT WE DO
Arts Ed Newark has brought Trauma-Informed Care and Healing-Centered Practices to the City's Arts Educators and Community Leaders since January 2020.
While ensuring delivery of high-quality rigorous arts learning in safe, student-centered spaces, our professional development with youth practitioners focuses on important elements of trauma-informed learning environments such as:
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creating spaces where students feel culturally, emotionally, and physically safe;
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building trust;
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giving students choice and control over participation;
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creating shared power and relationships through collaboration;
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empowering youth by building on their strengths; and
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building cultural humility and responsiveness
Our Professional Development models quality training, positive and effective learning communities, and systemic and organizational collaboration to better serve our students and the broader Newark community.
Through our 4-part series, participants gain insight into:
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What is the impact of the arts on this work for various audiences and constituents?
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Through training, have particpants developed an understanding of what trauma is and how it impacts a young person?
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Are high-quality arts experiences a powerful tool for trauma-impacted youth?
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How have they implemented trauma-informed practices?
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Does the learning team model support the development of trauma-informed arts spaces?
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How can they build resilience and prevent retraumatization?
Additionally, we further collaborate to build a cohort of participants who have already gone through our initial training to develop a Professional Learning Community and engage in 5 sessions to allow deepening of their practice, provide space for reflection, deeper and expanded trauma understanding, further interaction with facilitators and their expertise, and guided implementation support.
WHY THIS WORK MATTERS
The burden of trauma in Newark youth is very high, largely unaddressed, and bears deep consequences. We seek to provide adults working in youth-led spaces the proven and adaptable tools of arts education to create more trauma-informed and healing-centered spaces.
Attention for this work grows and we have expanded the network to: APLI, NJPAC, Miami Garden, Passaic and Paterson school districts, revealing the critical need for programs like ours.
At the end of SY26, we have trained 600+ educators and community members.
Feedback is strong:
"I've learned the importance of the healing process as a community. I will definitely use my music classes as a place where students can start the process."
HEALING AS A COMMUNITY
100% of survey respondents felt that as a result of the workshop series they gained more tools and/or strategies to work with trauma-impacted youth.
TOOLS AND STRATEGIES
93% of survey respondents felt that they have a better understanding of how trauma impacts the brain, the body, and the community."
UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA
"This training helped me have a better understanding about how trauma affects us all, and it gave me some tools to start addressing trauma in my arts classroom. I started applying the idea of a 'safety plan' with my students. We are living in difficult times, and have them/us come up with a safety plan has been very helpful to me and my students."
CREATING A SAFETY PLAN
LEARN MORE
As educators, we want our students to be happy, healthy, and prepared to reach their highest potential. These aspirations are most often possible when children are in safe environments (physical, social, and psychological), especially given the added impact of COVID-19.
For two years, AEN has developed creative approaches to respond to our youth's ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) and understands that arts education can offer both safe spaces/outlets and unique teaching methods.
Arts Ed Newark presents a special opportunity!
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Introduce collaborative, healing-centered/ trauma-informed arts education work to your school
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Strengthen your arts programming
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Develop partnerships among students, faculty, staff, and the greater community
Contact us at info@artsednewark.org to present this work to your school or organization.