As students return to school this month, it is a good time to consider ways we can support children in grades Pre-K through 12 and their schools. More than two-thirds of children report at least one traumatic event by the age of 16, which includes: abuse or neglect, experiencing violence, prejudice and discrimination, disasters, and more.
Childhood adversity is a broad term that refers to a wide range of circumstances or events that pose a serious threat to a child’s physical, behavioral, or mental well-being that may occur during all developmental stages including prenatal, infancy, and throughout childhood and adolescence. Experiences of adversity during developmentally sensitive periods can contribute to difficulties with decision-making, emotional regulation, and other behaviors that can negatively affect learning and the school environment. Given the prevalence of childhood adversity, many educators will encounter a student impacted by adversity or trauma, whether they know it or not. This makes schools a key part in supporting all students by adopting a trauma-informed approach.
Schools should be a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where all students can grow and thrive. Creating and sustaining a trauma-informed school can provide physical and felt safety (when a person feels and believes they are safe), inclusivity and support for both students and educators. Trauma-informed schools can address the needs of not only students, but also educators and families who might be at risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue.
A trauma-informed school approach uses the principles of trauma-informed care and integrates them into the school’s system and organization. Specifically, “a trauma-informed school system (pre-school – twelfth grade) is one in which all administrators, staff, students, families, and community members recognize and respond to the potentially negative behavioral, relational, and academic impact of traumatic stress on those within the school system including children, caregivers, teachers, other school staff, as well as on the system itself.” The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) elaborates in its System Framework for Trauma-Informed Schools, providing guidance to create and support trauma-informed schools.
The framework includes a multi-tiered approach:
- Tier 1: Creating and supporting a trauma-informed school community
- Schools transform on a number of levels to create and support safe environments that promote healthy and successful students and staff.
- Tier 2: Early intervention/identifying students and staff at-risk
- Schools identify and respond to students and staff who are at-risk or have been exposed to trauma and/or loss in ways that meet their unique exposures, developmental, and personal needs
- Tier 3: Intensive support
- Schools provide support to those students whose behaviors and experiences necessitate intensive interventions and aim to meet their unique needs, exposures, experiences, developmental, and personal needs
Schoolsafety.gov highlights strategies school staff can use to support students affected by trauma to create a more trauma-informed atmosphere, such as:
- Providing a designated space for de-escalation
- Offering calming tools like stress balls
- Establishing positive and routine classroom schedules and norms
- Integrating movement breaks to reduce stress and increase attention
Regardless of the framework or strategy used to create a trauma-informed school, any trauma-informed system, including schools, should aim to adhere to the four Rs of trauma-informed practice as identified by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- Realizing the widespread impact of trauma and pathways to recovery
- Recognizing trauma’s signs and symptoms
- Responding by integrating knowledge about trauma into all facets of the system
- Resisting re-traumatization of trauma-impacted individuals by decreasing the occurrence of unnecessary triggers (e.g., trauma and loss reminders) and by implementing trauma-informed policies, procedures, and practices
In addition, trauma-informed schools can have a positive impact on all students and result in the following:
- Fewer suspensions or expulsions
- Improvements in academic achievement
- Improvements in behavior
- Feelings of physical, social, and emotional safety in students
There are many ways to integrate trauma-informed approaches into school systems. Check out the Whole Health Louisiana member organization, the Coalition for Compassionate Schools, to learn more about the work they lead here in Louisiana: https://cforcs.org/
From the Whole Health Louisiana team, we wish everyone a safe start to the school year!
Additional resources:
Black, P., Henderson-Smith, L., & Flinspach, S. (2021, September 21). Trauma-Informed, ResilienceOriented Schools Toolkit. National Center for School Safety. https://www.nc2s.org/resource/trauma-informed-resilience-oriented-schools-toolkit/
How trauma-informed schools help every student succeed | Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). (n.d.). Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). https://www.crisisprevention.com/blog/education/how-trauma-informed-schools-help-every-student-succeed/
NCTSN. (n.d.). Trauma-informed schools for children in K-12: A system framework. In NCTSN Policy Brief [Policy brief]. https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/trauma_informed_schools_for_children_in_k-12_a_systems_framework.pdf