The Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching Department is proud to announce the Trauma-Informed Education Speaker Event featuring educator and author Alex Shevrin Venet. The online presentation, scheduled for Thursday, April 22 from 6-7:30 p.m., will begin with a talk by Venet and conclude with a Q&A.

Venet is an undergraduate teacher at the Community College of Vermont, as well as a graduate instructor for in-service teachers at Castleton Center for Schools and Antioch University New England. She also facilitates professional development for teachers and co-organizes EdCamp Vermont and the Trauma Informed Educators Network Conference.

“As educators we really need to know how all of that impacts our students when they come to our classroom and how we can create spaces for them that are loving and affirming but also work towards dismantling a lot of those injustices and oppressions that our students experience,” - Kaitlin Popielarz, Ph.D.

The ILT Department describes her as, “a leading scholar, educator and facilitator in the field of trauma-informed education,” who, “centers equity within trauma-informed practices in order to work toward systemic changes in schools and communities.”

Kaitlin Popielarz, Ph.D., assistant professor of interdisciplinary learning and teaching, and the organizer and facilitator of the event believes that Venet’s work offers a new perspective on previous trauma-informed educational practices.

 “There’s a lot of ‘reforms,’ using quotes, that push for socioemotional learning, or push for behavior initiatives for students [that] can be masked as trauma-informed, but they really just perpetuate students’ trauma,” she said. “Alex’s work really brings a purposeful and necessary approach to trauma-informed education to work towards system changes.”

According to Popielarz, this approach is essential for educators and administrators working with students who regularly experience injustice in their communities, and even in their schools.

“As educators we really need to know how all of that impacts our students when they come to our classroom and how we can create spaces for them that are loving and affirming but also work towards dismantling a lot of those injustices and oppressions that our students experience,” she said.

Because of this potential to positively benefit students, Popielarz is confident that teachers of all levels and fields, and even students, can benefit from the resources and strategies that Venet will offer in her presentation. Furthermore, she says, even those not directly involved with education may still find value in attending.

“More broadly for the San Antonio community…taking a trauma-informed approach in all different sectors is really necessary as we work towards social justice initiatives, and as we work towards transformative change,” Popielarz said.

As such, the event is open to all COEHD students, faculty, and staff, as well as the UTSA and San Antonio communities at large. According to Popielarz, attendees can expect an engaging presentation in which Venet will explore concepts using examples to which her audience will readily relate and will model practices specifically tailored to education in San Antonio.

“If there’s teacher candidates coming, or classroom teachers coming to the event they’ll walk away with ideas that Alex models,” Popielarz said. “So that is, for a free event, just an incredible resource.”

This will not be the first time Venet has targeted content specifically to Texas educators. During the February winter storm, Venet authored a Twitter thread, “for educators supporting students in the midst of crisis and natural disasters.” This thread provided resources and strategies for teachers struggling to help their students during unprecedented winter weather.

Venet’s first book, Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education, will be released on May 25. The April 22 event will offer a raffle for 2 copies, and all attendees will receive a discount code to purchase it.

Registration for the event can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trauma-informed-education-speaker-event-featuring-alex-shevrin-venet-registration-148025352815.

Those interested in learning more about Venet can visit her website, https://unconditionallearning.org/.

Venet’s Twitter thread for educators amidst crisis can be read at https://twitter.com/AlexSVenet/status/1362443346187280386?s=20.