CoreCollaborative International has been asked to partner with the Peace Corps to support English teachers working under challenging conditions in eastern and southern Ukraine. Under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Jones Wiley, CCI’s managing partner and a former Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine (2005-2007), CCI’s collaboration supports the Peace Corps as an organization that has long furthered human sustainability around the world.
Teachers in Ukraine are pressed on many sides as they fill gaps in teaching staff caused by the invasion, continue to provide educational activities, and support the psychological wellbeing of their students – all while living amidst ongoing conflict and uncertainty. Peace Corps Ukraine has worked with thousands of teachers throughout the years, and Peace Corps staff, acknowledging teachers’ unique needs at this time, designed a series of webinars to provide a community of practice and psychosocial support.
This summer, CCI is looking forward to participating in this webinar series by offering three session topics addressing techniques for introducing emotional attunement and regulation, as well as self-care for educators. Sessions will be offered to two different cohorts of roughly 30 participants each. The topics include:
- Identification of Emotions and Activities for English Language Classrooms
Participants learn about the many families of emotions, how they are related to one another, and the benefits of being able to name emotions. They are introduced to tools like the emotion wheel, and learn strategies for teaching language learners emotion vocabulary in a culturally relevant, engaging manner. (Led by Dr. Jones Wiley)
- Emotional and Behavioral Regulation in the Trauma-Informed Classroom
Participants learn about emotional and behavioral dysregulation as a response to traumatic experiences and high stress, followed by self-reflective activities and sample games and activities that can be used with students to support their emotional and behavioral regulation. (Led by Dr. Vesna Hart)
- Trauma-Informed Self-Care
Participants are introduced to trauma-informed self-care practices. Teachers experience both first- and second-hand trauma in their lives and in their work; and self-care practices make possible their own wellbeing as well as effective care for students in trauma-informed classrooms. (Led by Dr. Angela Webb)
CCI’s work to get tools in the hands of dedicated teachers in Ukraine can serve as a reminder, for all of us, that Ukraine continues to need support. CCI is proud to collaborate with organizations such as the Peace Corps as they try to maintain engagement in Ukraine, to the extent possible, through partnerships and online activities. The Peace Corps is one of dozens of organizations doing crucial work in Ukraine. Two others that are especially relevant to the mission of this particular initiative include Project HOPE, an international global health and humanitarian aid NGO which, among other projects, is supporting health initiatives in Ukraine; and UNICEF, which supports vulnerable children and families, and has been working to meet urgent needs in Ukraine and in refugee-hosting countries since the outbreak of the war.
CCI is honored to collaborate in furthering the important work of organizations such as these. But it’s important to note that the need is great, that support for Ukraine comes in different forms, and that individuals have a crucial role to play. Dr. Jones Wiley urges readers to support organizations like the Peace Corps, Project HOPE, and UNICEF financially. It’s also important, she says, to continue to write to members of the US Congress or (in the case of international readers) other governmental representatives who are making decisions about large-scale military, financial, and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Please reach out to CoreCollaborative International if you’d like to learn more about other ways in which you can add your support.