Format

Panel

First Presenter's Institution

University of West Georgia

First Presenter’s Email Address

tpeters@westga.edu

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Peterson arrived here 31years ago as a professor in the college of Education at the University of West Georgia. He teaches courses including philosophy, cultural studies, critical issues in education and history of education. His interests include encouraging future teachers to examine their inner life, think critically, and learn how to grow relationships and heal students from their unnecessary suffering due to traumas. He is the founder and director of the SPARK Mentoring program. Son of a preacher, he lived his formative years in Singapore. Prior to his appointment at UWG, he was an elementary/middle school principal in NC, high school teacher in California and Maryland, World Masters gold medal winner in badminton, flight instructor, and father to 3 sons and 5 grandchildren.

Second Presenter's Institution

Department of Juvenile Justice

Second Presenter’s Email Address

StephanieLove@djj.state.ga.us

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

She began with the Department of Juvenile Justice in 2009 as a JPPS I. She was promoted to Case Expeditor for the NW region in October 2022. She has previous experience with the Carroll County Department of Family and Children Services; Morning Star Counseling Services; Georgia Department of Corrections; and Inner Harbor Hospital. DJJ has a mission she strives to accomplish when working with our youth. She was given the task to protect and serve the citizens of Georgia by holding youthful offenders accountable for their actions through the delivery of treatment services and sanctions in appropriate settings and by establishing youth in their communities as productive and law-abiding citizens. DJJ staff are expected to be creative, efficient and responsible for the work that they do with our youth. She constantly seeks to refine existing programs and cultivate new innovative and effective programs that encourage youthful offenders to become successful members of society.

Third Presenter's Institution

Carrollton High School

Third Presenter’s Email Address

travis.thomaston@carrolltoncityschools.net

Third Presenter's Brief Biography

Travis Thomaston is a native of Carrollton, Ga, and is a product of Carrollton City Schools. He graduated from Carrollton High School in 1997, and went on to receive his undergraduate degree in Middle Grades Education from the State University of West Georgia in December of 2001. He began his career as a 7th grade Science teacher at Carrollton Jr. High School in the Fall of 2002 and went on to receive his Masters in Educational Leadership in 2012 and his Specialist in Educational Leadership in 2014 both from the University of West Georgia. He was named Teacher of the Year of CJHS in 2010 the same year he began his career in school leadership as an assistant principal of Carrollton Elementary School and later Carrollton Upper Elementary before being named principal of Carrollton Jr. High School in 2016. Travis is in his 22st year in education all with the Carrollton City School system, and is pursuing his Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from Kennesaw State University. He is currently serving as the Director of Student Engagement with Carrollton City Schools.

Fourth Presenter's Institution

University of West Georgia

Fourth Presenter’s Email Address

Spark@my.westga.edu

Fourth Presenter's Brief Biography

Sungmin Park is a Graduate student pursuing a Master's Program in Psychology at the University of West Georgia. Sungmin Park has work experience with youth in the fields of education, marketing, and music. He worked as a Marketing and Media apprentice in a youth camp in Arkansas, New Life Ranch; as a private tutor for Korean students in an Education organization, HaNeul Education Corporation; and as a private music tutor for youth. His research interest is in resilience, intercultural study, and social justice. He desires to integrate his discipline in Psychology with Education to create meaning in the lives of youth.

Fifth Presenter's Institution

University of West Georgia

Fifth Presenter’s Email Address

Ac00262@my.westga.edu

Fifth Presenter's Brief Biography

Alie was born and raised in Kennesaw Georgia. She is currently an undergraduate student at the University of West Georgia actively pursuing her bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English. She hopes to become a high school English teacher. She is currently a part of the SPARK mentorship program working as a researcher with Dr. Tom Peterson.

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

There is a need for revisioning practical ways to bring hope and discovery to at-risk youth who have experienced trauma and are not faring well at home, school, and in our communities.

Brief Program Description

Trauma in our at-risk youth community is a growing concern and needs revisioning if we are to expect positive transformations. Our mentoring program is specifically designed to ignite hope and healing which is transforming youth that are on probation with the justice system. The outcomes are humbling and transforming, with youth better able to love themselves, connect with others, and find hope for their futures.

Summary

Before we can work with at-risk youth to help them heal and grow, we must understand the gravity and depth of trans-generational trauma and how they are transferred to youth. A juvenile judge described the youth who came to his court as having “dead eyes” due in large to their home environments. Too often we see patterns of destructive behaviors played out in their homes, classrooms, and in their communities with few resources to address this serious and often life-threatening mental illness. We are far behind in recognizing this issue as is noted by Rodney Walker in his 2020 book, Wounds You Can Not See, and Van Der Kolk”s 2015 book, The Body Keeps the Score, in providing the necessary and specific healing that addresses traumas.

Too often, teachers are at a loss as to how to reconcile with these youth who have experienced severe trauma, so 14 years ago a mentoring program was started at the University of West Georgia in partnership with the Juvenile Justice System to address the traumas that plagues our at-risk youth. Over the years, we have invited hundreds of youths who are on probation and transport them to the university where they are introduced to pre-service teachers who will mentor them one evening a week for ten weeks.

It should be noted that when administering the Harvard University’s ACE Test to our youth, they all scored between 5 and 10 which places them at high-risk of health and mental issues including alcoholism, anxiety, and depression to name a few. This unique program is designed to ignite the spirit of healing, hope and discovery in youth who have all experienced trauma. We have tailored the latest research that brings healing to many of the youth in our program.

Evidence

The qualitative research over the past 14 years shows remarkable change in the youth’s ability to form intimate relationships, focus on school, and improve their outlook on life. They all leave the program with more optimism and resilience.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will better understand the gravity of trauma in our youth.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will take away an array of easy to replicate ideas for classrooms or mentoring programs, ideas that can bring healing to hurting youth.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will take away a new way of bringing hope and discovery to at-risk youth.

Keyword Descriptors

Trans-generational trauma, resilience, healing, mental health, physical health, mentoring, social skills, heart

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-4-2024 9:45 AM

End Date

3-4-2024 10:15 AM

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Mar 4th, 9:45 AM Mar 4th, 10:15 AM

Igniting the Spirit of Hope and Discovery in our Youth

Trauma in our at-risk youth community is a growing concern and needs revisioning if we are to expect positive transformations. Our mentoring program is specifically designed to ignite hope and healing which is transforming youth that are on probation with the justice system. The outcomes are humbling and transforming, with youth better able to love themselves, connect with others, and find hope for their futures.