About us
Advocating Calm. Cultivating Resilience.
our mission
Attentive Teaching is an education nonprofit that aims to help teachers create peaceful and safe classrooms by recognizing and addressing trauma and stress-related issues through mindfulness and self-regulating techniques.
Our philosophy
Our approach to trauma-informed teaching integrates physical and mental mindfulness strategies into your educational environment. Our three-pronged approach of education, assessment, and addressing aims to help students achieve social, emotional, and academic success.
Educate
Teachers aren’t given the resources to handle trauma in the classroom, and often feel discouraged by students who act out or need extra help. Attentive Teaching educates teachers on the signs of trauma and shows them how to self-regulate first so they feel confident reaching the most challenging of students.
Assess
We show you how to assess a student’s cognitive, social, and emotional abilities to provide the necessary support and intervention to address their needs. Assessing the issue of trauma and how trauma can interfere with a student’s ability to succeed educationally is a central focus of our efforts to understand the whole child.
Address
We teach you to address the physical and emotional needs of students, teachers, and parents by initiating a mind-body approach to holistic wellness. By focusing on the use of mindfulness meditation and yoga techniques, you’ll learn coping mechanisms that will cultivate resilience in children and a safe environment in the classroom.
our story
The three founders — Lori, Roxee, and Cindy — go way back. Lori’s four daughters were all enrolled in the East Williston School District, where Roxee taught 4th grade and Cindy taught 8th grade social studies. Years after Lori’s girls graduated, Lori remained close friends with Roxee and Cindy. The three would often meet to lament the forgotten children and teens, the ones with behavioral issues who get pushed to the wayside because they have unaddressed trauma. As a trauma and substance abuse counselor, Lori watched kids suffer at the hands of uninformed teachers whose response to acting out was punishment. And as a mother, Lori watched as two of her daughters with behavioral problems stemming from trauma were sidelined, ignored, or punished. The two teachers who were able to get through to her daughters were Roxee and Cindy.
Attentive Teaching was inspired by a desire to make a change in the way students learn, a change that reflects the new struggles and traumas of being a kid in this world. We firmly believe that if a child is exhibiting behavioral issues, then there’s something wrong in their life, and that should be handled with compassion and care. Teachers have an opportunity to make their own lives easier while further enriching the lives of their students by providing a safe learning environment.