Nationwide, including in NYC, more than 1 in 4 students have been exposed to some form of trauma, with students of color and students living in poverty disproportionately impacted. Over the last few years, students have experienced untold trauma related to Covid-19, systemic racism, school shootings and war, inhibiting their ability to learn, develop self-regulation skills, and to form healthy relationships.
This trauma motived concerned advocates, educators, parents/caregivers, students, mental health providers, and social service agencies to form the Healing-Centered Working Group to help schools build healing-centered practices to support students’ behavioral health needs and reduce school officials’ reliance on the use of punitive, exclusionary discipline practices and, worse, the use of School Safety Agents, 911, and emergency medical services.
HEALING-CENTERED SCHOOLS DISTRICT 9 PILOT PROGRAM
In 2023, with support from the New York Community Trust, the The Healing-Centered Schools Working Group launched a pilot program at 12 schools in the Bronx’s District 9 aimed at fostering healing centered approaches to education. Through the formation of Transformation Teams that develop and implement a Healing-Centered Plan, the program seeks to develop a culture that allows students and staff to overcome trauma-related obstacles to teaching and learning.
ADDRESSING SUSPENSIONS
In addition to partnering with the schools in District 9, Bronx Legal Services offers free legal representation at Superintendent Suspension Hearings throughout the borough. The suspension process can be very confusing. Bronx Legal Services works with families to understand the circumstances that led to the suspension, prepare for the suspension hearing, and attend the hearing alongside the family as their advocate. Working together with families, Bronx Legal Services will seek to positively resolve the situation, make sure the students’ rights are respected and their individual needs understood, and return them to school as soon as possible. After the hearing, Bronx Legal Services will continue to support families in evaluating the student’s educational needs and advocating for a school environment where they can thrive.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
The Working Group is always looking for people to join the creation of healing-centered schools, including:
- People to join the Healing Ambassador and Pilot School programs
- Parents, students, community members, school staff and elected officials to participate in listening sessions and collaborate in implementing healing centered practices
- Parents, students, community members, school staff and elected officials to participate in the work of the Healing Centered Schools Working Group
If you are interested in participating in or supporting these initiatives, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
THE VISION FOR HEALING-CENTERED SCHOOLS IN NYC 
This Roadmap lays out a step-by-step process to help schools remove structures that undermine healing, build practices that advance healing, and create whole-school change in the process. It is a culmination of two years of intense research, community conversations, and drafting by the members of the Working Group spearheaded by Katrina Feldkamp, an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Bronx Legal Services. The Working Group hopes this document will provide students, parents/caregivers, community leaders, and concerned school staff the necessary framework to bring healing-centered practices to schools in the Bronx and citywide.
Read the Executive Summary (English, Spanish).
Read the full Roadmap here.
Read the Press Release here.
Watch the virtual Town Hall event here.
ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP:
The Working Group wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations that have signed on to support the Roadmap’s proposals and values. If you or your organization would like to sign on to the Roadmap, please fill out this form.
Annagine Lewis, Parent Action Committee
Barbara DiGangi, LMSW
Citizen’s Committee for Children of New York
Counseling in Schools
Dignity in Schools Campaign – New York
Elizabeth George Hebert, Head Teacher - International Academy of NY
Jake Martinez, Director of Youth Programs, New York Civil Liberties Union
Joy Leonard, Director, New Settlement Program for Girls & Young Women
Irina Roller, Esq.
Jacob Ham, PhD, Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Child Trauma and Resilience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Legal Services NYC
Lourdes Carrasco
Marcia Calle, MSW
Monique Lindsay, Advocate for Education, Mental Health, Food, and Wellness
Nelly Maseda MD, MPH
New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee
New York Immigration Coalition
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Inc (NYLPI)
NY State Senator Gustavo Rivera, 33rd District, The Bronx
NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools
Nicole Hamilton, Girls for Gender Equity
Shavon Glover, Educator - UAAFL
Parents Supporting Parents New York, Inc.
Vibrant Emotional Health
YA-YA Network
Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director, Alliance for Quality Education