Project Summary

Introduction

Reimagine Resilience is an innovative online training program designed for educators and education professionals to nurture resilience as an integral capacity in their students. This professional development program draws from Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess’ ground-breaking Educational Displacement Theory. This novel theory illustrates the ten phases that a student experiences on a pathway to violent expression. The program builds resilience to hate and violent expression by offering a ten-part training that amplifies protective factors – such as social connectedness, non-violent problem solving, and forming cultures of prevention. Each training component advances prevention against every step on this pathway.

When a student experiences Educational Displacement (Sabic-El-Rayess, 2021), they seek out alternative spaces and mentors to replace schools and educators. Emerging from the pandemic, we recognize that such alternative spaces have existed in unmonitored and expanding forums online where a student’s interactions and exposure to manipulative content has affected their educational journey. Educational Displacement involves displacement from the school environment that is not always physical yet translates into the feeling of invisibility when a student’s voice and story remain unrecognized in the physical or virtual classroom. This displacement can leave a permanent imprint on those affected as it engenders a feeling of a lesser contribution, meaning, and value to society relative to others in the student’s community. Considering this, educators and education professionals have a vital role to play in the prevention of violent expression. With each course in the Reimagine Resilience training, educators will learn to integrate transformative practices and resilience-enhancing tools that will interrupt this pathway to violent expression. Course participants enter as an individual open to learning, and our aim is to have them leave as an inquiring and resilient member of the community. They will be equipped with preventative practices, powerful stories of resilience, and community-building approaches to incorporate into their teaching.

Reimagine Resilience is a training platform housed at Columbia University’s Teachers College, an institution that will grant every participant, upon completion of the program, with a certificate of   Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Our program received an Innovation Grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3). With this support, Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has assembled a team with extensive teaching experience, in-depth knowledge of education technologies, and a proven track record of building successful online professional trainings that are dynamic and engaging. The Reimagine Resilience program will be offered at no cost for the first year following its launch,  expected July 2022.

If you are interested in registering for the Reimagine Resilience program, partnering with our team, or learning more about our work, please click on the links above.

Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess

Executive Director

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