Reread the African proverb. This time substitute the word “village” with the word “school”. What image comes to mind? A child sitting attentively at her desk, hand raised, ready to answer a question her teacher has just posed? Or a child kicking the legs of her desk, shouting out responses, and stopping the teacher from posing academic questions to the class?

Long before the CoVid-19 Pandemic, multitudes of students were already searching for sources of warmth. On the campus where I work, Thursday was the day of the week students most frequently sought out embraces. Their searching presented itself via disrespectful language towards adults and peers, instigating verbal and/or physical altercations, climbing on or throwing classroom furniture, and eloping from their classrooms and sometimes campus.

Understanding all behavior is a form of communication is crucial when responding to dysregulated students. In 2018 our campus shifted and implemented schoolwide trauma informed practices. While Thursdays remained the day of week our students asked to be seen and loved in unique ways, the overall impact of our school’s mindset shift was tremendous.

Relationships between adults and children on campus, and between home and school were strengthened. Student achievement gained momentum. Our school grade increased from a “D” to a “B” in one year. The following year we held fast to our trauma informed practices, hopeful to maintain our hard earned “B” if not raise it to an “A.

March of 2020 had other plans. The CoVid-19 shutdown brought everything to screeching halt. Society shifted in myriad ways. Villages began burning. Relationships were tested.

Two years later, our school community is shifting again. As we navigate our first full year with all students and staff back on campus Thursday is no longer the chosen day of the week. We find ourselves working in a space where each day of the week is a Thursday. Relationships are more important than ever.