Compassionate Schools: The Heart of Learning and Teaching

The Compassionate Schools Initiative under Learning and Teaching Support provides guidance, referral, and technical assistance to schools interested in creating compassionate classrooms in the school and compassionate attitudes of their educational staff. This is a growing Initiative.

The book The Heart of Learning and Teaching: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success represents a compilation of the current understanding of how trauma can negatively impact learning and what compassion in a school setting and community can mean. The purpose of the handbook is to inform, validate, and strengthen the collective work of educators and community members in working directly with children and families affected by trauma.

The handbook, published September 2009, is a free download.

For more information on the handbook or Compassionate Schools contact Ron Hertel, Readiness to Learn Program Supervisor at (360) 725-6050.