Pottstown Working to Diminish Trauma's Impact

Photos Courtesy of the Pottstown School District

Keynote speaker Casey O'Donnell, CEO of Impact Services in Kensington, addresses the Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection meeting at Sunnybook, Oct. 19.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District.

The Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection focused on family engagement, community building, and the Social and Emotional Learning curriculum from Second Step in the Pottstown School District during a Connection Matters community meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19. 

Phoebe Kancianic and Kizmect Meade explain PEAK's
Family Advisory Committees.

Attendees ranged from families in the community, people representing the many non-profit organizations in the Pottstown area to school district employees to trauma advocacy workers in the greater Philadelphia area. All gathered to focus on how to make the Pottstown community stronger through learning about and reducing adverse childhood experiences, trauma, and toxic stress. 

PEAK Coordinator Valerie Jackson and Pottstown School District Superintendent, Stephen Rodriguez started things off by talking about the importance of building connections with families. 

Laurie Kolka, director of curriculum, outlined how a new program called Social Emotional Learning is being implemented featuring a video, embedded below, on what Pottstown elementary students are learning. 

Two Pottstown parents, Phoebe Kancianic and Kizmect Meade, provided an overview of the Family Advisory Committee, a group that connects the schools, the community, and parents through information, idea and resource sharing. They help organize events like the Let’s Talk community conversations, provide feedback to their schools, increase outreach to and involvement from the community, and more.

PEAK Coordinator Valerie Jackson and

Pottstown Schools Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez

Casey O’Donnell, CEO of Impact Services in Kensington, a neighborhood in Philadelphia, gave the keynote talk.

O’Donnell discussed the work his organization has done in creating a stable neighborhood and building community in Kensington by “sharing power.”

He referred to the many small organizations that will “help to institute that change” in building a safer and stronger community. In the end, reducing trauma and improving communities comes down to building relationships and working with families.

You can learn more about Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection (PTICC), a group organized through PEAK (Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness) and the Pottstown School District, by visiting their website, http://www.pottstownmatters.org, or following them on Facebook or Twitter.