Ervin began as an official program consultant with the NC Center for Resilience & Learning 2021 after being one of the Center’s key educator partners at Elizabeth City Middle School through his other role as Restorative Facilitator and Social and Emotional Learning Specialist. Ervin primarily provides trauma-informed schools training and coaching in Elizabeth City – Pasquotank Public Schools.
I am an experienced Restorative Facilitator at Elizabeth City Middle School (ECMS) in Elizabeth City, NC. I am also a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Specialist. I am extremely passionate about SEL and Restorative Practice, both in and out of the classroom. Since embarking on this journey at ECMS in 2017, I’ve been working to create a culture of SEL and trauma-informed discipline across the school. Through this process, office referrals and suspensions have shown a drastic decrease of 75%. Negative issues for both students and teachers have transformed into healthy and positive situations. I am also the creator of R.E.S.T (Recognize, Educate, Solve, Transition), a program now offered by ECMS to both students and staff.
The Passion Behind the Work
“If we are going to get into it, let’s get into it.” These are words I am famous for, and this is my way of going beyond the surface to commit to the deeper level of accountability that restorative justice requires to be successful. This fearless, energetic teaching method and my realistic application of this work has stamped me as a champion of trauma-informed education.
I have always believed that there is a rhyme and reason for everything, and that everything a person goes through has an assignment. Things don’t happen just to happen. More importantly, everyone has a story. One of my greatest joys in this work is knowing that all that I have been through has led me to what I am doing now, and is a fulfillment of my story and my purpose. One thing I’ve learned along the way is that often, the trauma we witness comes from not being able to understand or express our story. Instead, it comes out in acts of frustration that create further trauma. What gives me joy are the opportunities I now have everyday to help others understand and communicate their stories, as we work together to heal their trauma early in life.
Once I started to acknowledge the trauma I’ve experienced and practice a trauma-informed mindset in my personal life, this propelled me into what I call Life Joy. This means that everything in life– the good, the bad and the ugly– brings me joy because I now understand the assignments that these things have. This was such an epiphany for me, and I wanted to share it with the world. I believe this process works for everyone who is willing to participate in it. I love the fact that all the trauma in my life has me working both in–and on–purpose.
What is My “Why?”
Being a member of the Resilience and Learning Project enables me to further live my purpose. In supporting schools to adopt a trauma-informed approach, I would especially love to grow and help nurture these vital aspects of trauma-informed education throughout the great state of North Carolina:
- Foster the mindset that trauma-informed education is about fixing the system, not about fixing kids. For years, we have been throwing kids away based on the misinterpretation of discipline.
- Build healthy relationships. Strong, stable, and nurturing relationships foster a feeling of belonging that is essential for all students, but is absolutely imperative for healing with students who have experienced trauma. This is a vital component in changing the narrative for students and staff in NC schools.
- Finally, I would like to drive home that ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) are not trauma, but are real. ACEs play a major part in the way we function in life, both professionally and socially, both in and out of the classroom. Understanding the importance of ACEs allows humans to better understand each other.
Our experiences shape who we become. They are the reason why I love the way I love, why I talk the way I talk, and why I act the way I act. I believe that if I had been given information about ACEs earlier in life, it would have changed my choices, my relationships, and my life in astronomical ways. I am now living in joy because my life experiences have given me the opportunity to share this understanding with others in ways that might change their lives for the better. I am a fan of humanity. I love people, and I love helping – I love us. This is the “why” that drives me in this work.