Trauma-Informed Practices

Between one-half to two-thirds of all school-aged children experience trauma, and more than 30 percent of children have multiple traumatic experiences. These statistics do not account for the trauma of ongoing racial discrimination and microaggressions that students of color experience, nor the lasting mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that the actual rate of child trauma may be much higher.

Children who have experienced trauma tend to be disciplined more often at school and are frequently labeled as “problem children”. Without intervention, unaddressed trauma can be the first step of the school-to-prison pipeline. Punitive responses to trauma-based behavior can be particularly damaging to students of color, who are more likely to be suspended or expelled than their white counterparts. Schools that recognize and respond to child trauma have seen gains in student achievement and reduced incidence of delinquency.

Office of Education Solutions (OES) is partnering with Resilient Futures to build the capacity of current and future teachers to recognize and respond to trauma in school environments with children, build healing and equitable classrooms, and address secondary trauma in themselves and their coworkers. This initiative includes:

Integrating trauma-informed practices (TIP) into the School of Education curriculum for pre-service teachers:

• TIP is being integrated into the entire School of Education curriculum so all students graduate with the skills to build equitable, culturally-responsive and trauma-informed classrooms and schools
• With TIP taught alongside existing course learning objectives, students understand how TIP is fundamental to all aspects of teaching and not supplemental or add-on
• A four-part professional learning series on TIP is also offered to School of Education students, as well as School of Education alumni, faculty and staff

Supporting in-service teachers and schools to implement TIP:

• The Office of Education Solutions is offering in-person and virtual professional development and consultation on TIP to support the widespread implementation of these practices in PreK-12 settings
• Through a $100K Constellation Philanthropy Grant, the Early Childhood Education (ECE) department will scale the implementation of TIP and equity in ECE settings, and the placement of pre-service teachers in these settings

Ongoing research and evaluation:

• Preliminary research by School of Education faculty Drs. Ofelia Schepers and Kathryn Young indicates pre-service teachers that participate in two or more TIP professional learning sessions have statistically significantly reduced secondary traumatic stress as compared to teacher candidates who do not participate in any sessions
• Through a $389K Spencer Foundation grant, Drs. Schepers and Young will examine the impact of TIP on secondary traumatic stress in novice teachers. This study will examine an innovative partnership model intended to reduce secondary traumatic stress through supporting novice teachers in a unique Reflective Consultation approach in their first three years of teaching