Stressed brains can't learn: CASA hosts screening of 'Paper Tigers'

Press release

CASA of Hill County will host Monday a screening of “Paper Tigers,” a documentary directed by James Redford that focuses on toxic childhood stress.“Paper Tigers” is a relevant and timely documentary that explores the impact of adverse childhood experiences on struggling teens. Their teachers are armed with new science and fresh approaches that are changing their students’ lives for the better.

The screening will be Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the HRDC Board Room. The screening is open to the entire community, but CASA especially wishes to invite community members working in education, mental health care, law enforcement, and child welfare

“‘Paper Tigers’ is a moving and profoundly important film that offers critical insights into one of the most widespread educational and health challenges in American society. It should be mandatory viewing for teachers and principals across the country and anyone who works with vulnerable youth” said David Bornstein, New York Times author and Co-Founder of The Solutions Journalism Network.

The film follows a year at Lincoln High Alternative School in Walla Walla, Washington. After radically changing its approach to discipline and education, Lincoln High School saw a dramatic turnaround in everything from the number of fights to test scores to graduation rates. The school has become a promising model of how to break the cycles of poverty, violence, and disease through the practice of ongoing trauma-informed strategies.

Told with intimate vérité and diary cam footage, “Paper Tigers” is a testament to what the latest research on childhood adversity is proving: that one caring adult can change the trajectory of a young person’s life.

For more information about the screening or about CASA, please contact Mark at [email protected] or 265-6743.