How are schools incorporating trauma informed practices, if they are at all?

Hi Dominic, 

You are  correct. Our students are between the ages of 15 and 20, with the average age being 17 yrs and 9 months.  Screening at younger ages may need to be done face to face, or by having a parent/guardian fill out a survey?

We also do a comprehensive file review when a new student enrolls.  We request records from all previous schools, medical records (when applicable), and in some cases we will call the previous school(s) to try to gain a better understanding of what the child has experienced in the past.   

The earlier we can start addressing the traumas these children have experienced, the better the odds for success.  Keep me posted on how your process is going.  

Thanks,

Leisa

Leisa-

I will be sharing your excellent experience and wisdom with peers in education. Thank you for your great details in this post and your daily work to impact kids!

Hi Wendy, 

I am so glad you replied.  Having seen the disconnect in the schools where you have worked, do you have any ideas on how to bridge that gap? I know that in MN, the teacher licensure process is extensive, and by the time educators are done with their schooling, you would hope that they had been inundated with information on child development, brain development, cognitive processing, etc. But that does not appear to be the case, at least not at any depth.  

I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on what can be done to support teachers and assist them in making the transition from mainstream industrialized education approaches to more of an individualized whole learner approach. (And please forgive my generalizations - I am speaking to the higher ed approach of training teachers, more than to the individuals themselves.) 

Leisa

The link enclosed is to an article from a researcher at UNC-Chapel Hill about practices that can help kids cope after a traumatic event (especially in the news). Maybe this is related to what you are looking for? http://endeavors.unc.edu/helping_children_heal The researcher advocates trying to make the response(s) as unique as possible for the various ways that children respond to trauma. Cheers.

Hi Leisa-

took me awhile to find my way back to respond to your post! 

I really am not the expert or even close to having clout in terms of education, but I guess if ACE information implies big paradigm changes, then I see that having big implications for the pairing of social work and mental health practices within public education.I saw another post here about social workers and psychologists understanding the students best but having the least contact- that's a place for change. Cross training between disciplines and an emphasis on whole person approaches to education our children clearly are needed in our nation for many reasons. I don't know how we get there but the work that you and your peers around the country are doing at smaller grass roots level paves the way and gives us best practice.  My fantasy is that teacher training and  social work/psychology/mental health career preparation should happen in the same department and require cross training and multi-disciplinary practicum experiences. Maybe ACE work is gearing up towards creating a new social science related job title that is a hybrid of current "guidance counselor" and trauma trained therapist...?

Hi Wendy, 

I could not agree more.  We recently hired a whole group of new staff who are school counselors but also have teaching certifications.  The new staff members are called "student success coordinators" and are going to be serving as a hybrid teacher/case manager/counselor.  This new group of staff members are going to be on the front line of education, working with their students everyday. With their counseling training and experience and their direct interaction with students, they will have skills and tools that most teachers haven't had in the past.  We just completed a three day orientation with the new team members and I am super excited about the possibilities in front of us this coming year, and for many years to come.  

It will be fascinating to see where this change takes us, and I will definitely be writing about it as the year progresses.  

Thanks again for your thoughts!!

Leisa

Hi i'd really like to know the 25 questions you refer to and if they include strengths and interests in addition to the ACEs and triggers.
We consult and provide mental health and school culture supports at many public schools in NYC and are considering using a modified ACE questionnaire in our intake interviews with students and families.
Any chance you could share it in this thread?
Thanks and all the best,
Kristen

Sorry I asked before I saw you had posted it. For some reason that one hadn't loaded the first time.
Thanks for sharing resources everyone. I'm also interested in the expensive training mentioned above if anyone has feedback abut it. Best, Kristen