Rooted in Hope

<p>Teaching was never meant to feel like survival. Yet for so many educators the weight of trauma-our own and our students'-has made classrooms feel heavy with shame disconnection and exhaustion.</p><p><em>Rooted in Hope</em> invites teachers leaders and caregivers to step into a different story. Drawing on decades of classroom experience clinical practice and the latest neuro-informed research Katie McDonald weaves together personal narrative science and practical strategies to help educators build trauma-responsive equity-centered learning communities.</p><p>Through the <strong>Rooted in Hope Framework</strong>-twelve guiding principles including Resilience Trust Openness and Purpose-you'll learn how to:</p><ul><li>Recognize trauma's impact on the brain nervous system and learning.</li><li>Reframe behavior through curiosity compassion and cultural responsiveness.</li><li>Reclaim hope as both a teaching strategy and a personal lifeline.</li><li>Reimagine classrooms as spaces of safety belonging and possibility.</li></ul><p>This is more than a book about teaching; it's a journey of reflection and renewal. With stories of real students guided exercises and the Student in Need of Connection (SiNoC) process <em>Rooted in Hope</em> equips you to respond differently-on purpose with science and with hope.</p><p>Whether you're an exhausted teacher searching for joy again a leader ready to transform school culture or anyone who believes education should heal rather than harm this book will remind you: you are not alone and the work you do matters more than ever.</p>