Dwayne D. Williams provides direct services for students, in which he uses his curriculum Like Music to My Ears: A Hip-Hop Approach to Addressing SEL and Trauma in Schools as a guide to engage students in culturally sustaining SEL and trauma-informed supports. When providing services, Dwayne shows up with ideas of what he would like to share with students (SEL competencies and trauma-informed awareness), but he collaborates with students in order to create the most culturally meaningful activities, based on his students lived experiences. He provides direct services for school districts and community organizations, and he coaches practitioners on how to use his curriculum, so that that they can continue the work when he leaves.
- Culturally sustaining
- social emotional learning groups
- trauma-informed groups
- adaptations to current groups
“Most SEL and trauma informed curricula are ‘pre-packaged’ manuals or programs that do not reflect the lived experiences and realities of many of our culturally diverse learners. In order to create culturally meaningful practices for culturally diverse learners, practitioners must become familiar with culturally sustaining theories that will guide their work—and they must become proficient with applying those theories in groups. Theory and application are the keys.”
~Dwayne D. Williams