ABSTRACT
Many African American children in urban environments arrive at school experiencing the effects of complex trauma from their homes and communities, only to find that schools are environments where their trauma goes unrecognized and may be inadvertently exacerbated. In some school settings, the entire school community is exposed to trauma through a variety of events on a daily basis. In other cases, children experience new trauma in schools, as school staff attempt to discipline children for what they believe to be inappropriate behavior, as opposed to responses to the effects of trauma. Often, African American children experience more punitive consequences than do their peers of other races for the same behavior. This chapter will provide case examples of how children and school communities are retraumatized in schools, provide the context for their trauma, and offer potential solutions, using a trauma-informed perspective.
