Science as Service
Scholars from the College of Natural Resources mobilize to help western North Carolina.
Teachers are often first responders in post-disaster scenarios, though their contributions are frequently overlooked. On the front lines of recovery efforts, they help students process the disaster event and return to learning amid a changed reality — all while meeting state standards and doing their own emotional processing.
But those teachers often need trauma-informed support, and school systems are sometimes not equipped to offer it.
College of Natural Resources professors Kathryn Stevenson ’14 PHD and Renee Strnad are stepping up to help. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, they have put their scientific expertise to work in the form of on-the-ground service to teachers in western North Carolina.
Stevenson partnered with NC State’s Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership and Duke University Marine Lab to create a research-based, resilience-focused disaster response curriculum called Ready, Set, Resilience. It uses examples of ecological resilience to teach students the roots of personal resilience — qualities like self-regulation, optimism, and connection with community — that are critical in post-disaster scenarios.
Stevenson’s team includes Kenan Fellows from eastern North Carolina who weathered Hurricane Florence. Together, they facilitate workshops in Yancey County, N.C., and other areas affected by Helene, training teachers in the disaster response curriculum.
“The situation we encountered in the western part of the state was stark,” says Stevenson. “Teachers weren’t sure what they’d find when students came back to the classroom.” Some students had lost their parents or their house, and many were living in shelters or were refugees from more dramatically affected areas.
Despite the challenging context, “the teachers seemed to resonate with the curriculum,” says Stevenson. Sarah Laws, a Yancey County high school science teacher, agrees: “I left the resilience workshop feeling so energized and inspired, ready to create a supportive environment for my students.”
Concurrently, Strnad has designed trauma-informed professional development for outdoor educators — those who use natural areas as their learning spaces. With Strnad’s program, these environmental educators are prepared for more supportive student interactions on the front lines of disaster recovery.
“Places look really different than they did before Helene,” explains Strnad. “Jumping into a creek to search for macroinvertebrates could be extremely triggering for a student or teacher who experienced flooding.”
Tell Us What You Think
Do you have a personal connection to this story? Did it spark a memory? Want to share your thoughts? Send us a letter, and we may include it in an upcoming issue of NC State magazine.
