Written by Alysa Balfour

My personal understanding of trauma and how it manifests itself dramatically changed in 2016 when my husband and I became foster parents. While I knew the extensive trauma my sons had endured, their teachers, our family and friends, and other acquaintances did not. It was heartbreaking to see my son reduced to a label of troublemaker when he was in fact a little boy who had experienced devastating trauma. Unless you have training or a personal experience with trauma, it may be tempting to label students rather than seeking to understand their actions.

We must redefine our understanding of trauma.
Many misunderstand trauma. We picture car accidents, explosive acts of violence, war-torn areas, or other disasters on a personal or large scale. While these are all traumatic experiences, trauma more likely will be experienced in a way that is almost imperceptible to someone viewing the situation from the outside. Emotional, physical, and sexual abuses, extreme poverty, neglect, food scarcity, and toxic household situations are all ways that students in our schools may be experiencing trauma.

The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality estimates that about half of children in the United States will experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). If children experience six or more of these ACEs, their life expectancy can be reduced by an average of 20 years (NICHQ, 2022). As Christians, we are called to consider how we can help all people. As educators, we have an imperative to consider the whole child as we educate them. This includes understanding how their past experiences, including trauma, may be affecting their ability to learn.

What does trauma look like?
It is important to note that trauma can be a recent development for a child, or it can be something that has been going on long-term. In cases of recent trauma, you may notice some of the following signs emerge:

• Overreactions to everyday challenges
• Negative outbursts or aggression
• Frequent stomachaches or headaches
• Appearing very sad
• Inappropriate social interactions
• Trouble with executive functions like focus, organization, and self-regulation
• Falling behind on classwork

Students who have been experiencing long-term trauma or have trauma that has gone unrecognized may also exhibit these behaviors, but may have a reputation for being a troublemaker or a bad kid (Understood, 2022).

Rather than ignoring trauma, we must develop a model that addresses it.
As principals, team leaders, directors, and others within leadership roles of schools, we have the ability to guide school culture and instruction in a direction that is trauma-informed and responsive to the impact of trauma on learning and behavior. When evaluating trauma research and practices, it becomes evident that no dominant framework is universally accepted (Thomas et al., 2019). The Trauma-Skilled Schools Model serves as a framework that would work well in my current Lutheran school and likely many others as well.

The Trauma-Skilled Schools Model
The Trauma-Skilled Schools Model was designed by the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC). The primary objective is to ensure that everyone in the school is not only trauma-aware, but also trauma-skilled and capable of responding and intervening in a beneficial way. The model includes five phases of implementation.

Phase 1: Knowledge
As a team of educators, support staff, and administrators, we must ensure that everyone has the background knowledge on trauma. What does trauma look like? How does trauma impact the processes of the brain? These are just some of the questions that are explored and answered in this step.

Phase 2: Build Resilience
Staff work together to explore ways they can instill resilience in their students. Students have resilience when they are able to make connections, feel secure, find achievement, pursue autonomy, and find fulfillment in their lives. This includes exploring formal social-emotional learning opportunities, fostering informal conversations, and structuring the classroom environment to promote resilience for all students.

Phase 3: Skill Acquisition
Administration works through essential skills with all the staff: prevention methods, proper intervention, aiding student recovery, and making referrals when necessary.

Phase 4: Assessment and Implementation
Administration, or the team that is designated as lead on the trauma-skilled mode, routinely assesses the policies and practices of the school, seeking to determine whether they have any negative impact on our efforts to be trauma-responsive.

Phase 5: Maintenance and Validation
Once a plan is made and change is carried out, it’s critical that it remain a conscious effort and it be routinely evaluated. If not, practices, policies, and habits will return to what they were before the change effort was made.

Use the model in connection with God’s Word.
As Christian educators and school leaders, we have a tremendous resource in God’s Word. As we become trauma-informed and seek to promote social-emotional learning that will foster resilience and growth in our students, we can use the comfort of the gospel. Christ tells us, “In this world you will have trouble. Take heart! I have overcome the world.” There is not a single trouble in this life that our God does not concern himself with. Our students need this reminder as they battle traumatic experiences.

May God give you the strength, patience, and love that is needed as you address trauma and its impact on your students.

Alysa Balfour (’13) serves at Mt. Calvary-Waukesha WI. She is also enrolled in MLC’s Master of Science in Education program with an instruction emphasis.

References
Gailer, J., Addis, D.S., & Dunlap, L. (2018). Trauma-skilled schools model.

Kaufman, T. (2021, June 3). What is trauma-informed teaching? Understood. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://www.understood.org/articles/en/what-is-trauma-informed-teaching?utm_source=google-search-nongrant&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=evrgrn-mar21-edu&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuP-OBhDqARIsAD4XHpcvDMd9lRZecMCGqDbh4uY3XM8dksqV9Vr4KkHnZOwVqB0SlPLGRy4aAlUVEALw_wcB

Did You Know Childhood Trauma Affects Nearly Half of American Children? (2021). NICHQ – National Institute for Children’s Health Quality. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://www.nichq.org/insight/bringing-trauma-forefront-early-childhood-systems

Thomas, M.S., Crosby, S., & Vanderhaar, J. (2019). Trauma-informed practices in schools across two decades: an interdisciplinary review of research. Review of Research in Education.