Trauma and Trauma Informed Schools are becoming more widely understood and addressed in schools across the country, as research and awareness about the prevalence and impact continue to grow. Kent ISD is offering five Trauma Informed Schools Professional Development opportunities during the 2019-2020 school year to support educators, staff, and administrators on the journey of becoming trauma informed.

According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) one-out-of-every-four children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event or toxic stress that can hamper their learning and affect school and class culture. Research from NCTSN shows these students typically have reduced reading skills, lower GPA’s, higher rates of absenteeism, suspension and expulsion, and are much more likely to drop out.

Responding to Needs

In response to this growing awareness, schools across the country have implemented trauma-informed policies and practices, leading to positive results, including: improved academic achievement and test scores; reduction in discipline referrals; improved retention of new teachers; improved sense of teacher satisfaction and safety; improved school climate; reduction in absences, detentions, and suspensions; and reduction in student bullying and harassment.

Building Trauma Informed Schools

Professional development for staff is critical to building a trauma informed school. Sandra Chafouleas, a professor of educational psychology at University of Connecticut, contributor to the Journal of School Mental Health, and a trauma informed school researcher, shares the importance of starting with teaching educators about trauma – “They need a deeper understanding about why a child is behaving a certain way. That’s about reframing their response from ‘what’s wrong with you?’ to ‘what happened to you?’” She says they also need to have an understanding of neurobiology.  “So, instead of ‘why are you doing that bad behavior,’ the framing might be ‘how do we de-escalate what is happening now’ and move to teaching increased coping and self-regulation?”

Research also supports the importance of helping teachers to identify trauma triggers, fight, flight, or freeze responses, and ways to establish an environment that is physically, socially, and psychologically safe for all students, but especially for those who have experienced trauma.

Trauma Informed School Sessions

Each of these researched-backed approaches are included in the Trauma Informed Schools sessions through Kent ISD, as well as how to partner with families who may have experienced trauma, engaging community partners, staff wellness and resilience, and aligning these practices with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Participants will leave with specific tools and implementation resources for beginning the journey to become a school where students who have experienced trauma can thrive.

After attending a,  Trauma Informed Schools session at Kent ISD, a building administrator has registered teams of staff for each of the following sessions to collectively build a trauma informed school. While these sessions are ideal for teams to attend together, sending a champion has also led to the implementation of trauma informed school practices and policies in other buildings. We look forward to you joining us on the journey to create more trauma informed schools throughout West Michigan!

Click the date below to register today for Trauma Informed Schools:

• Register for the December 9, 2019 session
• Register for the February 10, 2020 session
• Register for the April 23, 2020 session
• Register for the May 20, 2020 session

Another beneficial professional development course is Restorative Practices. Click here to read more and register for Restorative Practices Training.

#PBIS #RestorativePractices #TraumaInformedSchools #WeLeadLearning #KentISDpd

Written by Amber Fox, MSW,Director of Integrated Supports & Team Lead for Kent School Services Network – A Community School Coalition and edited by Amanda Walma, Professional Development Coordinator for Kent ISD.