What it Means to be a Trauma Informed School
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) impacts health development of the stress response. Schools must be able to support these learners.
Building Connection
It all starts with the relationship. Every staff member can take steps to connect and understand their students. Alex supports districts to implement systems to foster these bonds:
-Predictable classroom routines
-Solution-Oriented Conferences
-Positive classroom management approaches
-Strong family engagement practices
Building Skills
Students with high ACE exposure may have deficits in foundational emotional identification, communication, and regulation skills that significantly impact their ability to be available learners. Alex supports districts to build these competencies across tiers:
-In Class Self-Regulation Spaces
-Embedding SEL throughout the school day
-Tier 2 and 3 Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) skill building interventions
Building Understanding
An effective student intervention plan requires understanding why the behavior is occurring. What need is the behavior meeting and what is an adaptive way for the student to meet that need? Alex helps districts develop processes to ask and answer these questions
-Identifying the function of a behavior
-Identifying skill deficits that contribute to a behavior
-Developing plans that teach and reinforce approximations of expected behavior
Complete the contact form below to help your school/district become trauma informed!