Trauma in Schools #13 — From Trauma to Advocacy – One Student’s Story

Peyton Barsel — Founder, ACE Aware

ACE Aware is an advocacy nonprofit dedicated to supporting students who have experienced trauma and to moving the language of student mental health out from behind the shadows and into the light of shared human experience.

Our guest

Peyton Barsel founded ACE Aware after writing and presenting a bill in the 2019 Nevada legislature requiring teachers to be trained to identify and support students who have experienced trauma. Peyton subsequently researched and co-wrote a trauma-informed training video with the Department of Education, which all Nevada public school employees must watch annually. She’s studying Education Policy and History at Columbia University to ensure that every child has an equal opportunity at the education they deserve. She is also working with Trauma Free NYC to make an active difference in the public schools and create a trauma-informed K-12 learning environment.

The Takeaway

Providing school communities with trauma-informed practices allows teachers to model communication and coping skills that create a guide to healing. School leaders and staff need to learn about the science behind trauma to help students feel safe enough to learn.

Peyton Barsel was 9 years old when her father, Alex Barsel, died suddenly at the age of 42. She has been able to channel her painful childhood experience into advocacy for legislation requiring all public school educators in Nevada learn how to support children who have undergone trauma.

As you listen

What is Peyton’s trauma story, and how does it fuel her advocacy?
Why are trauma-informed policies difficult to implement?
What can the school community do for students who are experiencing grief?
What do teachers need to know about trauma to support students?
Why should emotional well-being be advocated in the school?
Are there ethnic and socioeconomic differences in resources for trauma?

In their own words

Advice on how best to address trauma…from someone who has experienced trauma.

Peyton Barsel speaking before the Nevada State Assembly in support of the bill that would require teachers be trained on how to identify and support students who have experienced traumas.