For the district-wide professional development day on Wednesday, December 2, renowned recovery expert and author Dr Bruce Perry spoke before educators in the Newtown High School auditorium.

The presentation was one of several Dr Perry had in the area last week hosted by The Ana Grace Project and partners, including The Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation, Western Connecticut State University, Newtown Recovery & Resiliency Team, Newtown Public Schools, the Resiliency Center of Newtown, and the Child Trauma Academy.

Dr Perry spoke at a December 2 breakfast, held at the Newtown Congregational Church for the community before the session for educators at the high school. He also attended a daylong professional symposium on December 3 at Western Connecticut State University called the Love Wins Mental Health Conference.

“This afternoon is one of those moments in my career that become a focal moment. For us to partner with Jimmy and Nelba Marquez-Greene for this afternoon is a very, very special moment for the Newtown Public Schools,” said Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi Jr at the high school.

Jimmy and Nelba Marquez-Greene’s daughter, Ana Grace, was among the victims of 12/14. The Ana Grace Project’s mission, according to its website, anagraceproject.org, is to promote love, community, and connection for every child and family.

Preparations for the December 2 afternoon professional development conference, Dr Erardi said, began roughly a year before the event.

Ms Marquez-Greene introduced Dr Perry near the start of the presentation.

“If we are going to heal Newtown,” said Ms Marquez-Greene before introducing Dr Perry. “We’ve got to do it together. And even though we each have our own unique experience, we will need to heal, and grow, and love together and support those members of our community that are struggling most.”

Ms Marquez-Greene said she reached out “early on” to Dr Perry, “because I want the best of the best, and he is the best of the best in helping communities recover from tragedy and expressed the importance of healthy relationships.”

Dr Perry said the presentation would hopefully help the assembled educators “better understand the children you work with.” He also said it could help them understand themselves as well.

Learning about how the human brain responds to stress, Dr Perry said, is incredibly important for understanding conversations with children.

“I want to talk a little bit about systems in the brain that are involved in stress response, and then I want to talk to you about how experiences change these systems,” said Dr Perry near the start of his presentation.

Dr Perry said he would speak to the educational effects of his subject, and said he would speak to the experiences of both teachers and children who were exposed to “those traumatic experiences almost three years ago.”

Dr Perry is the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, a book based on his work with abused children; and Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered. His most recent multimedia book, BRIEF: Reflections on Childhood, Trauma and Society, was released in 2013.

Over the last 30 years, Dr Perry has been an active teacher, clinician, and researcher in children’s mental health and the neurosciences, holding a variety of academic positions. He is a strong supporter of The Ana Grace Project.

Dr Perry spoke about different levels of stress and the effects those can have on the brain. He also described those stress levels can create different responses for a child in an educational environment.

Following the professional development event, Dr Erardi said, “Dr Perry was able to bring the Newtown classroom to life and offer scientific based solutions to teaching and learning.

“My office and the school board remain only privileged to partner with the [Ana Grace Project], as this opportunity could only take place through the work of their organization.”

Both Dr Perry and Ms Marquez-Greene spoke the following day at the Love Wins Mental Health Conference in Danbury. The conference focused on the importance of relationships in building resilience and healing, and understanding signs for help in children. Dr Perry noted at the conference that resilient factors include having connections to the community, family, or having at least one person providing unconditional love, as reported by The Connecticut Mirror. Routines and helping others were some of the things Dr Perry said can help children cope.

On Wednesday, December 9, Ms Marquez-Greene said she was thrilled, “many neighbors and community members came out to hear the presentations and participated in some part of the event. The only way we will heal is together. [It is] truly the only [way] we will move forward.”