Trauma-Informed Practices: A Whole-School Policy Framework

By now, members of state boards of education will have heard the dire statistics about the rise in students’ mental health struggles, which were exacerbated by exposure to added traumatic events during the pandemic. When they are prepared to do so, educators play an important role in helping these students. Applying trauma-informed practices in the classroom can help students build the resilience and emotional intelligence they will need to reduce the impact of trauma on their well-being and learning.

Traumatic events, or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), compound students’ mental health burden. ACEs include abuse, neglect, family mental health crises, violence, and caregiver death. A 2019 study of the impact of ACES on learning found that children’s risk of poor attendance, behavior issues, and failure to reach grade level in math, reading, and writing increases as the number of ACEs they experience increases. These results are statistically significant even when accounting for gender, race, and levels of school poverty. The researchers suggest that students with many ACEs may be at risk for academic or behavioral issues without officially meeting the diagnostic standards for receiving special education services or interventions.