Building Student Resilience Toolkit | National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE)

America’s schools are often a primary source of supports for the mental health and general well-being of children and youth. These supports are particularly essential when students are struggling or experiencing trauma (e.g., contending with impact of COVID-19), while also experiencing adolescence. A key area of support schools can provide is building student resilience. Building student resilience can mitigate the impact of adversities, enabling students to rise above the challenges they face and recalibrate their responses accordingly. This is especially the case when students have relationships with caring, supportive peers and adults whose actions are grounded in resilience building principles.

The Building Student Resilience Toolkit is designed for middle school and junior high school educators as a tool to strengthen their skills for nurturing student resilience during this key developmental stage.

Each of the four modules associated with the toolkit are briefly described below. Click on the “Get This Product” buttons to access the modules that will serve you best.

Modules At-A-Glance

Module 1: Building Resilience in the Face of Adversity
Offers trainers or professional development staff materials to address the effects of stress and trauma on the brain, as well as the major elements of resilience. It contains a comprehensive training guide, companion slide presentation, and accompanying handouts.

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Module 2: Building Student Resilience in the Classroom
Offers trainers or professional development staff materials to connect resilience research to positive classroom and school climate, offering educators an opportunity to integrate strategies to nurture student resilience. It contains a comprehensive training guide, companion slide presentation, and accompanying handouts.

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Module 3: Self-Care Guide for All Staff
Offers school staff members an opportunity to self-assess their personal level of stress and reflect on elements of self-care they can use to support their own resilience. It contains a self-directed, self-paced guide for reflection and planning.

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Module 4: Resilience Building Resource Guide for Administrators
Offers administrators with a summary of resources that are available to provide schoolwide support to all staff participating in the task of building more resilient students. It contains a comprehensive list of support resources to provide leadership to resilience-building efforts within a system or school building.

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