NC BOLD East 2026 Day 3 Pine Forest High School

You know the moment. A student slides a soaking wet Chromebook across your desk. A book comes back in pieces — or doesn't come back at all. Your checkout system is a disaster, your fines list is a mile long, and somewhere in the back of your brain, a little voice is screaming. But what if that damaged device or missing novel is telling you something more important than "this kid owes me $47"? Join fellow School Library Media Coordinators for an honest, lively, and heartfelt conversation about what it really looks like to respond to our students through a trauma-informed lens — even when we're holding the shredded remains of a book we loved. We'll dig into three big ideas that just might reboot the way you show up for your learners: CONTROL — how do we manage our own reactions in the heat of the moment, when our instinct is to protect the collection instead of the kid? ALTERNATIVE — what are the alternative approaches, conversations, and choices available to us when the "standard" response just isn't enough? COMPASSION — how do we make our libraries a place where students feel safe enough to be honest, make mistakes, and still belong? Come ready to share, have real talk, and leave with strategies you can actually use on day one. Because sometimes the most radical thing a librarian can do is take a breath and ask, "Are you okay?"