The First Days Set the Tone for the School Year: A Trauma-Informed Back-to-School Guide for Educators

By the second week of August, classroom doors all over the country will swing open, and millions of young people will walk back into rooms most of them have not been inside since June. The decisions educators make in the first ten days of school will, more than the decisions of any other ten days, shape what kind of room their classroom becomes by October. This piece is a trauma-informed back-to-school guide for the teachers preparing for 2026 to 2027 with care.