If Not Us, Then Who

According to the National Center for Education Statistics about 56.6 million students attend elementary, middle, and high schools across the United States. However, when those students are entering our buildings, we must always be aware of the actions, conversations, and memories that are taking place at home or even in the car that brought them to school. What I am referring to is trauma. Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as:

• physically, socially, spiritually, or emotionally harmful;
• threatening;
• having lasting effects on the individual.

We must always remember that trauma is the experience or perception of the event that leaves one feeling hopeless, helpless, or powerless. It is not the event itself that defines whether an event is traumatic or not. It is the feeling that the event creates.

When our students get out of their cars or off their buses or are walking to the doors, they might be dealing with divorce, substance abuse at home, verbal abuse, bullying, emotional neglect, a parent in prison, physical abuse, or discrimination. But, they also might be leaving behind lack of joy, lack of basic needs, angry interactions with a caregiver, or pure uncertainty. That is what makes our jobs as educators even more important. It does not matter what your title is within a building; everyone plays an integral part in helping our students stay regulated so they can be in the best educational environment possible to enhance their academic success.

Regulation

All staff members within a building are integral to creating and maintaining the differentiated systems of support for our students. The hope is to create a safe space for a student beyond the classroom, beyond the office of a counselor or administrator. To use spaces where students already begin to congregate but shifting their mindset of that location. I am not talking about the cafeteria, or the hallway, but rather the library. Students who have experienced trauma first and foremost, before any true learning begins, need to feel regulated. Heather Forbes, an internationally published author on trauma and self-development, states that "Regulation is the ability to experience and maintain stress within one's window of tolerance. Generally referred to as being calm, focused, or relaxed" (Forbes 2012, p. 9). Once a student is regulated, the next step is to feel safe where they are. Safe from the judgement of students, their parents, or possibly community. When a student is regulated and safe in their surroundings is when they will begin to build relationships with friends, teachers, school administrators, counselors, or school personnel. In order for true learning to occur, one must feel connected, safe, loved. By building this process slowly, schools can begin to grow and expand their school culture. Use areas in our buildings for that exact thing. Create a common area where students and staff can continue to build school culture either before or after school.

Safe Space

Let the library be that safe space. Open the library before school for students to access a computer or the Internet, work on homework or a project, read, play a game, or even just get out of the current weather outside. Once students know what is expected of them (how to enter, student movement, expectations on computers, voice level, etc.), begin to be creative with what to do next. Begin to use the space to build bridges with students and connect. Invite staff to join, open a coffee/hot chocolate stop, and host special events. Once that connection occurs is when real conversations can take place. What I mean by real conversations is when students fully trust the receiver of the message. The students can begin to release personal information as a sign for guidance or help. In order for this to take place, students need to two items: they need to be regulated and they need to feel safe. Once they know those two areas are grounded is when they will begin to build trust with educators, counselors, and building administrators. What I just described can work at a secondary level and elementary. Begin to reach out to your teachers, invite classes down for either a read aloud, or create class sets of materials/books that incorporate social and emotional components. For elementary, we often refer to the list in the Publisher's Weekly article by Shannon Maughan, "Social and Emotional Learning Booklist" (https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/77750-social-and-emotional-learning-a-book-list.html).

Begin to create a common vocabulary, defining terms such as: trauma, acute trauma, chronic trauma, complex trauma, regulation, and dysregulation. What you are creating is a common language for staff and students to use, which can then be used not only in the library, but also in the classroom and during announcements. During the 2018–2019 school year, our district created a social emotional learning committee. This committee was comprised of ten individuals from various backgrounds to create a vision for making our district trauma aware. We gave trauma awareness presentations to all of our district employees (certified, non-certified, transportation department, child nutrition and wellness, custodial, township police, etc.), then created an outline for schools to implement in order to best support their students and staff. Our outline consisted of layering a basic foundation of common vocabulary on what trauma is, learning more about the adolescent brain with and without the effect of trauma, state and local data of mental health, building relationships, and most important of all self-care. We continued to build and grow our understanding of trauma awareness with our employees through presentations and also township book studies (A New Day One by Rodney Walker, Lost at School by Dr. Ross Greene, Help for Billy by Heather T. Forbes, and How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana). While working with staff, we continue to build a bridge with our students.

Awareness

Making ourselves aware of what is taking place in and around our students' lives is important because for the hours they are in school, they need to know they are in a safe place. Those school hours might be the only time a student might hear a positive word come from an adult's mouth! We cannot control what happened ten minutes before school started but we can control what happens as soon as that student pulls into our parking lot to embrace the day.

I began to do poorly in school. Many nights I'd lie in bed, unable to sleep because of the noise—heavy stomping, yelling, sometimes glass shattering. The next morning I'd wake up tired and depressed, meandering through the school day, thinking constantly about what awaited at home. I just wanted to retreat to a place where I could sit in silence. I couldn't tell anyone what was going on, as that was far too embarrassing. When the teacher announced that we had only a few minutes to clear our desks before the bell rang, my heart sank. I'd stare at the clock as if it were a ticking time bomb. Not even Mama understood how terrible things had become. My slipping grades were the first indication.—(Vance 2016)

How many of our students are like J. D. Vance? How many students have thought they cannot tell their trusted school staff member the troubles that they face? Create moments to connect with your students. Begin to know their likes, dislikes, musical interests, and let them know that they are not just a body in a desk. They are somebody and they can make their own path!

Works Cited

"Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/. Accessed October 2019.

Forbes, Heather T. Help for Billy. Beyond Consequences Institute, 2012.

Vance, J.D. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Harper Collins, 2016.