Persisting Through Unprecedented Crises

The Northern California and Southern Oregon region has been hit especially hard in recent years by multiple crises. The 2018 Camp Fire and the 2020 Almeda Fire were just two among the dozens of major wildfires that have ravaged this region in the past few years. These fires destroyed entire communities and displaced thousands of children, their families, and their teachers. The rural communities that were levelled by fire are still suffering, with limited help from the federal government and insurance companies. This chapter explores what it means to lead through crisis and in the aftermath of collective trauma. The chapter reveals the layers of trauma that we feel as community members and as teacher educators, and grapples with our responsibilities as stewards of the profession. We explore the ways in which local educators have worked to sustain community and to keep children learning through these multiple crises and the challenges that still remain.