President's Letter: Building Resilience in Traumatic Times

Spring 2022 . . . what must it be like to be a student in pre-K–12 school? I am in awe of the capacity of our student population and the resilience they have shown in the face of so much uncertainty. Each student experience varies, with students coming from diverse backgrounds and life circumstances. The pandemic came crashing down on all, requiring a pivot, an opening of minds and a way of being. I challenge you to take a moment to reflect on the individual and collective trauma that is being experienced. A trauma-informed approach is a must. School counselors are essential to the delivery system of services that students need more than they ever have.

Pre-pandemic statistics had Pennsylvania on high alert. A 2017 study out of Johns Hopkins University revealed that nearly half of U.S. youth reported at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) while upwards of 30 percent of youth reported having experienced two or more ACEs by the age of 17. According to the Pennsylvania Youth Survey and various national data surveys, adolescent major depressive disorder and death by suicide in youth has been on the rise for a number of years. These concerns have been further exacerbated over the last two years of living in a worldwide pandemic, an adverse societal and global event, placing individuals on a continuum of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Pennsylvania School Code was updated in 2019 when Act 18 was passed, mandating trauma-informed approaches and training for all educational institutions. The stakeholders engaged in this update could not have predicted the magnitude of need that would exist after its inception. In 2020, the Pennsylvania Office of Advocacy and Reform released a Plan to Make Pennsylvania a Trauma-Informed, Healing Centered State. Trauma-informed is not merely a practice or a subscription, but a cultural shift in mindset.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education described several key terms in their report, Empowerment Through Common Language in Pennsylvania: A Dictionary of Terms related to Trauma-Informed Approaches in Schools: 

• Trauma: Trauma results from an event, series of events or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s cognitive functioning and physical, social, emotional, mental or spiritual well-being. 
• Trauma-informed: Includes a school-wide approach to education and a classroom-based approach to student learning that recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma and responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, professional learning, procedures and practices for the purposes of recognizing the presence and onset of trauma, resisting the recurrence of trauma and promoting resiliency tailored to a school entity’s culture, climate and demographics and the community as a whole.
• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): Situations or experiences occurring during childhood (that may or may not lead to a trauma response) but are frequently associated with negative long-term outcomes across the lifespan.
• Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS): A standards-aligned, comprehensive school improvement framework for enhancing academic, behavioral and social/emotional outcomes for all students.

Trauma-informed approaches in school are best instituted through the three-tiered MTSS framework (1–universal, 2–targeted, 3–intensive). MTSS works with cross-disciplinary teams through partnerships with all stakeholders to address academic, behavioral and social/emotional practices in school systems. In Pennsylvania, trauma-informed approaches are meant to be implemented at the Tier 1 level, for all students. Targeted and intensive supports are applied as higher level needs are identified. The development of these efforts must include families, students and the community to ensure that approaches are culturally responsive and appropriate. The Pennsylvania Department of Education offers five principles for trauma-informed approaches in schools:

• Safety
• Trustworthiness
• Collaboration and mutuality
• Empowerment, choice and voice
• Cultural sensitivity

Ultimately, the key factor in promoting capacity for posttraumatic growth and resilience is relationships. A caring adult, just one, can make all the difference. This critical relationship is a huge protective factor for a young person. School counselors are the bridge between all stakeholders; they make the connections. Their key role lies in their understanding of ACEs, identifying those students impacted by trauma and providing the support within the school. A comprehensive school counseling program in line with the ASCA National Model is built in the MTSS framework, thus allowing for the removal of systemic barriers, instituting interventions and working toward success for all students. School counselors also can create the school systems to provide students with stability, consistency and a safe space for belonging.

Once again, the call to school counselors is to lead, advocate, save lives and be change agents. Recognize and support all kids, every time. Recognize that our systems and foundations are stressed in a way that has never existed in history, and a trauma-informed approach through an MTSS framework will allow for an infrastructure of support and growth. And, know that when in doubt, always, take the first step to be the caring supportive adult to form a trusting relationship with a student.

Contact Jennifer Kirk, PSCA board chair, at jkirk@uscsd.k12.pa.us.