This mixed-method study explored whether school staff (teachers, principals, vice-principals, paraprofessionals, school counselors, and school social workers) experienced any challenges while working in a school setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from an online survey instrument and follow-up semi-structured interviews. A total of 207 educational staff from 30 different states in the U.S. completed the online questionnaire, and ten volunteered to be interviewed. The results revealed the challenges educational school staff experienced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2020-present. The major challenges faced by staff relative to students was poor attendance and student mental health. Personal challenges experienced by the staff included concerns about contacting COVID-19 and infecting family members. A thematic analysis of the data led to the identification of four main themes: Blurred lines between home and school, Mental health challenges should guide educational reform, Obstacles to learning, and Lack of support from home. These findings serve to begin a larger conversation about the needs of students and school personnel during a global pandemic.

In order to address the racial trauma that teens who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) may face at home, and potentially experience in school, educational professionals must equip themselves with the specialized skills to meet students' academic, emotional, and social needs. School leaders must begin this task by examining their own personal racial biases as they lead their staff in the task of reviewing data, rules, policies, and the school environment to examine practices that support and promote institutional and systemic racism.

Children in America are suffering from an abundance of trauma that many bring to school with them daily. Children, teens, and their families, who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), may have experienced historical racial trauma which is unique to students of color. Professionals working with students of color (SOC) must develop cultural competency around racial trauma in their understanding of trauma informed pedagogy to meet the needs of student populations that are becoming increasingly diverse. The overall purpose of this chapter is to provide professionals working with BIPOC children and teens the necessary skills to meet their needs.