Davy Beach, a third-grader at Rosa Parks Elementary in North Portland, has been seeing a therapist since she was 3.

Due to inconsistent care prior to her adoption, Davy has struggled for years with the aftereffects of trauma. Regulating her emotions is a constant struggle, and she needs routines to keep her on track.

Her mom, Lisa Weisman, struggled to find a school that could give Davy the trauma-informed education she needs. The family went through two public elementary schools that didn’t communicate with Weisman about her daughter’s outbursts in school and didn’t deliver the accommodations laid out in her daughter’s individual education plan, Weisman said. After she pulled her daughter out of the second school, she began calling other schools. No one would call back, Weisman said.

“People don’t want kids with IEPs,” Weisman said. “They’re a lot of work. They don’t have the staff. They don’t have the money for it.”

Then a friend recommended Weisman reach out to Rosa Parks Elementary. Weisman called in the morning and by 11 a.m. that day she was in the principal’s office, crying as she told Rosa Parks administrators about her struggle to find a school for daughter.

“They said, ‘We would love to have her,’” Weisman said.

Davy Beach, right, eats lunch at Rosa Parks Elementary School in North Portland, where she is a third-grader. (Photos by Beth Nakamura/Staff)

Since Davy enrolled at the North Portland elementary school a year and a half ago, she’s been thriving, her mom said. She benefits from the school’s trauma-informed approach to education. The fact Rosa Parks is the only year-round elementary school in Portland Public Schools also helps her daughter, she said. The increased consistency helps keep Davy on track.

“When you walk in the door, you can feel the love for the kids,” said Kevin Walker, the school’s new principal who served as vice principal in previous years. At Rosa Parks, he said, “Love looks like we’re going to walk alongside you in your environment.”

Walker said teachers are encouraged to meet students where they are and support them in getting to a better place, and the staff at Rosa Parks is largely on board with that mission. Rosa Parks’ administration has prioritized trauma-informed training for their staff, including bringing in outside experts to lead trainings. Trauma-informed teaching practices take into account a student’s life experiences that have impacted their ability to learn and address student needs with that in mind.

Curtis Wilson, who has worked at Rosa Parks in various roles for eight years and stepped into the vice principal role this year, said one of these trainings about three years ago had a big impact on the staff. “It opened the staff’s eyes,” he said, because it made them realize how “kids come in with these invisible backpacks” of hardship. A student’s personal background has a lot to do with how they’re able to engage in their education, he said.

Wilson taught Davy’s first-grade class. He said he comes to understand his students’ needs by paying attention and making small adjustments to accommodate them, something he did in Davy’s case. For elementary students, sometimes that’s as simple as making sure students have spaces in the classroom where they feel comfortable. Giving a student a few minutes to sit in a beanbag chair when they’re feeling overwhelmed can make all the difference, he said.

Weisman said Wilson’s work with Davy was instrumental in her recovery. “He really healed her,” she said.

Davy Beach, shown reading at home, attended two local elementary schools before settling into Rosa Parks Elementary. Teachers there have helped her build strong reading skills and social skills and she's thriving. (Photo by Beth Nakamura/Staff)

Weisman said she’s talked to school staff who have testified to the change in her daughter. She said earlier this summer she bumped into the school librarian, who told Weisman, “I am shocked by the change in your daughter" because her improvement was so swift and dramatic.

“We've certainly had our bumps in the road,” Weisman said, “but knowing that people show up in that school to serve those kids” makes a huge, positive difference for her and her daughter.

Davy has struggled to get to this point—where, her mom says, she is not only stable, but “flourishing.” Weisman emphasized that Rosa Parks’ support will also make a difference in Davy’s life moving forward. “I know it could fall apart tomorrow. And that's okay too, because we at least know what it's like to get back” to a good place, she said.

“We should be proud of where we are,” Weisman said.

--Casey Chaffin; cchaffin@oregonian.com; @todaycaseysays