Building the Resilient School

“This resource is a rare gem; tightly crafted, fully resourced, and on point in every chapter. Highly recommended and over-the-moon valuable. Get your copy, grow, and enjoy!”

“The challenges of poverty—generational poverty, adverse childhood experiences, academic gaps, and teacher attrition—often leave schools depleted of the assets their students and families need the most: hope and resilience.

In Building the Resilient School, Barr and Gibson provide a blueprint acutely needed to holistically address the academic, social-emotional, and human needs of students and their families. As a follow-up to their previous book, Building a Culture of Hope, Barr and Gibson expand upon the ability of resilient schools to serve their students, staff, and communities as a protective factor—one that is capable of growing optimism, belonging, self-worth, self-regulation, and purpose.

Additionally, recognizing that teachers and staff can’t give what they don’t have, Barr and Gibson provide guidance to develop a pervasive positive school culture capable of encouraging and retaining educators by restoring the pride and joy of teaching.

This must-read will help build not only resilient schools but resilient communities.”

“As I read my review copy of Building the Resilient School, the Covid-19 virus ravaged the physical and economic health of the U.S. and the world. Mandates for millions of Americans to stay at home compelled educators to act swiftly and creatively in sustaining academic and nonacademic support for their students during the international crisis.

The jarring shock of a global pandemic underscores the universal need for resilience and elevates Barr and Gibson’s book from powerful to prophetic. Just as the character traits of resilient people can enable them to overcome obstacles and recover from setbacks, the cultural components of resilient schools can build hope, opportunity and agency in our communities and throughout our nation.”

“Educators will appreciate Robert Barr and Emily Gibson’s holistic and hopeful plan for confronting the growing epidemic of poverty in our schools and communities. They provide not only an insightful analysis of the multiple detrimental effects of poverty on both students and school staff but also a comprehensive framework for building resilient schools to overcome these detrimental effects. Building the Resilient School represents a “third wave” of educational reform that goes beyond the first wave of focusing narrowly on student achievement and the second wave of recognizing additionally the needs for social-emotional learning. Now, the third wave also addresses staff’s relational and professional needs and establishes wraparound services for health, safety, and family/community engagement to equitably meet the holistic needs of all students, especially those in poverty.”