solutions Archive

Q-and-A with Suzanne Savall, principal of trauma-informed elementary school in Spokane, WA

Suzanne Savall, principal of Otis Orchards Elementary. __________________ Suzanne Savall, principal of Otis Orchards Elementary School in Spokane’s East Valley School District, says she didn’t really know what she was signing up for, but the words “complex trauma” resonated with …

First Focus’ Children’s Budget 2013 shows less than 8 percent of U.S. budget invested in children

First Focus‘ recently published report, Children’s Budget 2013, shows a decline in total federal spending on children for three consecutive years and reports that less than 8 percent of the federal budget is invested in children. Current Congressional budget negotiations pose a real threat …

There’s no such thing as a bad kid in these six Spokane, WA, trauma-informed elementary schools

What’s a trauma-informed school? It’s a place where this happens: There’s this third-grade kid. Let’s call him Sam. He’s got ODD (oppositional defiant disorder…a misnomer for normal behavior a child exhibits when he’s living with chronic trauma). Nine-year-old Sam (not …