{"id":1080,"date":"2017-05-09T16:26:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T20:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starr-commonwealth-new.local\/?p=1080"},"modified":"2019-05-22T16:29:01","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T20:29:01","slug":"10-steps-every-educator-needs-to-know-to-create-a-trauma-informed-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starr.org\/2017\/10-steps-every-educator-needs-to-know-to-create-a-trauma-informed-school\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Steps Every Educator Needs to Know to Create a Trauma Informed School"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning can be a real struggle for children who have experienced a trauma. But once trauma is identified as the root of the behavior, educators can adapt their approach to help students cope when they are at school.<\/p>\n

These steps create a blueprint for trauma informed school implementation and success. While creating a trauma informed school requires patience, with each small implementation you will see how each step complements another and you will experience significant benefits in the overall school climate. You may even see that parts of a step or even an entire step may already be in place in your classroom or school. If that is the case, celebrate and move on to the next step!<\/p>\n

Detroit-based clinical director of\u00a0The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children<\/a>, a program of the\u00a0Starr Global Learning Network, Dr. Caelan Kuban Soma, offers these steps to help school professionals put in place trauma informed strategies to help students. You can also check out our web page with all our\u00a0Trauma Informed School resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0<\/strong>Provide school-wide childhood trauma awareness and understanding of how trauma impacts children\u2019s learning and behavior<\/strong>
\nContrary to what many school professionals think, you do not have to be a school social worker, counselor or psychologist to provide trauma informed care and practice. Any person, regardless of their own background and role in the school setting, can help students thrive academically, behaviorally, socially and emotionally when they understand how stress and trauma influence students.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0<\/strong>View trauma as an experience rather than an incident or a diagnostic category<\/strong>
\nTrauma reactions depend upon how a person experiences what happened or what is happening. Every person will have a unique response to life based upon their experiences, coping skills, characteristics of resilience and protective factors. The perception of what has happened or what is happening is more important than the actual event. Adults often assume certain events are more traumatic than other experiences. Adults may also assume that some events are just normal things every kid needs to learn how to \u201cget through\u201d. For example, many adults think that teasing from peers is a normal \u201crite of passage\u201d instead of bullying. Remember, we cannot assume we know what is traumatizing or not traumatizing to a student. Instead, we need to be curious and ask how that particular event is affecting them.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0<\/strong>Believe the link between private logic and behavior<\/strong>
\nThere is a distinct link between a student\u2019s private logic and their behavior. Private logic is described as the way a person views themselves, others and the world around them. Based on that logic they act accordingly. Think of private logic as an invisible backpack. In the backpack, a student carries around beliefs about themselves, beliefs about the adults that take care of them, beliefs about other people they interact with in their lives and beliefs about the world. This logic is a result of their experiences \u2013 both good and bad over the course of development and life. If their lives are fueled by fear, abandonment and anger, their private logic will be consistent with those experiences. They will view themselves as scared and powerless, others will not be trusted and the world to them is viewed as a scary place. If their lives are filled with comfort, connection and love, their logic will be consistent with those experiences.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0<\/strong>Establish the experience of physical and emotional safety<\/strong>
\nWhile feeling unsafe may be accompanied by violence, it does not have to be. The\u00a0experience of safety<\/strong>\u00a0includes these characteristics:<\/p>\n