Be Positively Powerful: A Guide for Teens on Achieving Resilience and Empowerment is a new book by Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Be Positively Powerful is available on Amazon.
Covid-19 Pandemic ~ Trauma Resources
Instructional Resources to Empower Young People
Be Positively Powerful: Helping Young People Achieve Resilience. This video is for adults who work with young people — parents, teachers, and other professionals.
Two posters: Be Positively Powerful strategies and Be Positively Powerful Hand Washing.
This short document explains the seven positively powerful strategies you can use and encourage your students to use to achieve resilience.
This is a video for students, Be Positively Powerful: Achieving Resilience During the Pandemic.
This is a 4-page color reproducible document for students that sets forth the strategies that are presented in the student video. This is the same document in black and white.
This document can be provided to students to support their Advanced Planning. This document can be provided to support their Daily Practice and Journaling. Asking students to return their responses to these documents will enable teachers to be alert to possible safety or well-being concerns.
Freely Available. These resources are being made freely available. If there is a desire to provide access to these documents in a digital format, please feel free to do so. A Gratuity Donation is requested below.
Distance Learning During the Pandemic is Challenging
Education Week Article for Teachers: How to Find Resilience During a Difficult Time. This article I wrote, published by Education Week, provides guidance for educators. This is a pdf version of this document.
Equity and Trauma Informed Instruction During the Pandemic. This is an article that has been accepted for publication. I will provide the link when it has been published.
News Articles
These very recent news articles document the concerns.
Lack of Equity
Schools are moving online, but not all children start out digitally equal. The Conversation. March 26, 2020.
Startling disparities in digital learning emerge as COVID-12 spreads: UN education agency. UN News April 21, 2020.
No Home Wi-Fi, No Virtual Classroom: How Low Income Students Lose Out During a Pandemic. KQED April 20, 2020.
Student Stress
How to Help Students Navigate This Social-Emotional Rollercoaster. EdSurge. April 28. 2020.
The new reality of school at home: Overwhelmed. Isolated. Unfocused. Very Stressed. LA Times. April 5, 2020.
A trauma informed approach to teaching through coronavirus — for students everywhere, online or not. Washington Post. March 26, 2020.
Students Not Participating
As School Moves Online, Many Students Stay Logged Out. NY Times. April 8, 2020.
Parent Stress
“I just can’t do this.” Harried parents forego home school. Associated Press article. April 21, 2020.
Teacher Stress
New York City public school teachers describe being unprepared and overwhelmed as the coronavirus forces schools to shit down. Business Insider. April 12, 2020.
Online School Demands More of Teachers. Unions are Pushing Back. NY Times. April 21, 2020.
Exhausted and Grieving: Teaching during the coronavirus crisis. Education Week. April 20, 2020.
Gratuity Donation Requested Unfortunately, like many, I am experiencing no income. The insight in that is presented in these materials is based on years of research that I financially supported personally. If districts, schools, or teachers use the handouts for their students, I request a Gratuity Donation.
Information Resources
Links to informational resources from Be Positively Powerful: A Guide for Teens on Achieving Resilience and Empowerment.
Information for Professionals
Educators, mental health professionals, and others who work with teens can find additional informational resources on this page.
What's New
The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused me to direct my focus to providing insight and resources to educators who are struggling with the demands of assisting students who are experiencing toxic stress.
About Nancy
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D. is the director of Embrace Civility in the Digital Age.
Nancy has a background in working with students with special needs, law, digital safety, bullying and harassment prevention, trauma informed practices, and restorative practices.
Professional Development
Nancy is available for workshops and keynote presentations at conferences, as well as webinars and trainings for schools. The primary focus of her professional development offerings at this point in time is on equity-based, trauma informed and restorative practices.
Nancy can provide presentations for parents and teens in Oregon.
She is also available for news commentary.
Embrace Civility in the Digital Age
More information on Nancy’s professional work in the field of bullying and harassment prevention can be found at her Embrace Civility in the Digital Age website.
