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bette r s chools | W I NT ER 2 0 2 1
LOOKING FORWARD: COVID-19 RECOVERY
The Trauma Skilled Schools Model Ray McNulty and Sandy Addis, National Dropout Prevention Center
Educators are calling for additional support in the form of counselors, school psychologists and behavioral specialists to deal with the growing challenges they face in their schools. Research indicates that our students are dealing with unprecedented levels of stress and trauma that negatively impact a student’s cognitive functions and behaviors. What’s challenging for educators is that students don’t express the distress in ways that are easily recognizable and they often mask their pain with behavior that is aggressive or off-putting. It can be especially challenging for educators to recognize this distress in virtual learning environments. The researched-based Trauma Skilled Schools Model (TSS Model) seeks not to identify traumaimpacted students, but to build within schools the capacity to create strategies, policies and procedures that support students and establish a culture that eliminates practices that are detrimental to trauma-impacted students. The TSS Model is a tier 1 RTI strategy that positively impacts all students, helps students recognize their strengths, and builds the self-confidence and self-efficacy needed to be a successful learner. The school behaviors and achievement of at least half of our students are negatively impacted by childhood stress and trauma; many of these students and their traumas will never be identified, yet schools are responsible for the success and graduation outcomes of these students. Many of the students who eventually drop out are impacted by childhood traumas but have not been able to overcome the impact of those traumas on their behavior and learning.
