Moving Toward Trauma-Informed Schools

We know our students do their best learning when they are comfortable, safe and trust the people around them. We also know that our students, possibly now more than ever, are walking through our doors bringing a history of trauma and high ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Poverty, loss of loved ones, mass disasters, and abuse and neglect are just a few examples of traumatic events that can significantly impact a human’s daily functioning and well-being. The systems within schools must attend to these realities and the needs of our students. It is vitally important that educators are using trauma-informed practices with students to minimize re-traumatization and remove barriers to learning.

Traumatized people can feel like the world around them is unpredictable or uncertain, and trauma manifests itself differently in each person. Schools may see a wide variety of trauma responses. Sometimes it looks like the fight response: verbal aggression, physical aggression or defiance. It may look like a flight response: eloping, hiding under tables, purposefully avoiding eye contact or physically moving away from the source of stress. It could also look like the freeze response: refusal to speak, refusal to move or “shutting down.” Having a clear system of how school employees respond to these trauma responses produces the best outcomes, for both staff and students.

A great place to start district-wide is with education and professional development for the staff. Training is a proactive step that will support student achievement and closing the gap. With this education and skill building, all school employees – from custodial staff to administrators – can be an active part of building and maintaining a school climate that maximizes student learning. Along with how adults can support students, staff need to learn how to cope with hearing and seeing their students’ experiences with trauma. This is called vicarious or secondary trauma. For staff well-being, they must know how to recognize and be taught the skills on how to mitigate vicarious trauma as they support students who have experienced trauma.

All students may be affected by trauma, therefore the system needs to have trauma-informed practices embedded into the school’s multitiered system of support (MTSS) framework, with a strong focus on Tier 1 supports. Tier 1 universal supports have the widest impact on the culture and climate of school. Staff may not always be aware of who has experienced trauma but when trauma-informed practices are built into Tier 1, every student will receive that support. When the adults in the building have a common language, practice and application, the learning environment becomes more predictable and consistent. We cannot always prevent traumatic experiences, but a predictable, consistent environment is something we can control. Routines, procedures and boundaries are essential for students who have experienced trauma. Having a robust Tier 1 support system for students will also help prevent re-traumatization at school.

Schools should also work toward implementing a research-based social/emotional learning (SEL) curriculum into their Tier 1 supports. This learning empowers students with skills on how to regulate their emotions, problem solve, see other people’s perspectives and create and maintain healthy relationships with peers. Districts must take accountability and actively work to implementing this essential learning for students as a preventative and proactive measure. Otherwise, schools will be working in a reactionary environment, where issues are only addressed after the system breaks down. This reactionary environment puts students at risk of re-traumatization; therefore, a strong Tier 1, system-wide commitment to trauma-informed practices is vital to avoid these events.

Resources are available for educators looking to implement trauma-informed practices in their classrooms and MTSS Tier 1 supports. Reaching out to your local ESD or other partnering organizations for resources and training may also be a responsive way to meet the needs of your school community. CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) is another great resource for teams and districts that are beginning or maintaining their SEL program with a trauma-informed lens. They have a full program guide that helps you determine what program or system would fit your goals and needs. CASEL also has a tool that allows you to compare SEL programs to assist you in making the most appropriate decision for your school and community.

As educators and schools continue to support students from all backgrounds and histories, staff must work diligently to build a safe, predictable, trauma-informed learning environment. This takes effort and requires system-wide change to remove barriers to learning and improve the outcomes for our students.

Contact Rebecca Smythe, WSCA Membership Committee co-chair, at rebecca_smythe@ycs.wednet.edu.