Trauma ResPonsive Schools

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Trauma responsive schools build a culture of beliefs and actions recognizing the reality that a significant portion of our students have experienced some degree of trauma impacting their capacity to learn and thrive in a school setting.  By adopting trauma responsive supports within their daily interactions with students, school staff members can help students develop greater resilience toward overcoming the impact of their past trauma.   

The literature describing resilience is extensive.  In my work, I have found three critical components to be effective for developing resilience among young people.  These factors resonate among staff members who can describe anecdotes when these factors have led to strengthening students.  

Three Critical Factors To Develop Resilience

1. Caring support from at least one adult

2. Access to opportunities

3. High expectations

Caring staff members everywhere in our schools - teachers, bus drivers, food services staff members, administrators, students supervisors - have the opportunity every day to be the difference for students.  

Systemic practices, including student intervention rather than discipline, expansion of opportunities rather than removal and facilitating more academic rigor over limiting access all contribute to students developing greater resilience in the caring environment of our schools.

In partnership with psychologist, Dr. Doug Bolton, we provide professional development presentations that can help your team establish a trauma-responsive culture within your school.  Building upon a foundation of research-based data describing the impact of traumatic experiences students bring to school, participants will learn actionable steps for implementing a sequence of trauma-responsive principles and pillars.    

Coming soon! Resources to serve as a helpful foundation for understanding and communicating a trauma responsive approach.