This week, Youth Today, a digital news and information publication focused on youth development, child welfare, and adolescent issues, published an article from PEP entitled, More than a test: How trauma can disrupt learning. The piece highlights a PEP student’s journey from test refusal to compliance and how it happened not through testing accommodations, but through relationship building.
The article was jointly authored by Lauren Nash, senior director of educational services, Sweta Asher, coordinator of curriculum and instruction, and Deanna Moore, director of communications and marketing.
“Consider Natalie,*” states the article, “who came to PEP as a kindergartner after her public school exhausted its strategies. She wouldn’t sit for testing, wouldn’t participate in most classroom activities and was missing state-mandated assessments entirely. None of it was defiance for its own sake; Natalie had already experienced significant trauma, and her behavior was the only coping strategy she had.”
“We poured many hours of attention and care into that girl,” said Sweta affectionately, reflecting on how the whole team had worked to build relationships with Natalie.
“She’s doing so much better now,” said Lauren. “We’re all so proud of her.”
For more information about what is happening at PEP’s Therapeutic Schools, visit our website. Contact Nicole Molnar, sr. director, clinical services, at 216-361-7760 ext. 110 or via email to see if a student in your district may be a good fit for Positive Education Program.
Please note, referrals to PEP’s Therapeutic Schools are made through school districts in consultation with parents. Interested parents or caregivers should contact their school administrator.
*Name changed for privacy