Hello.

My name is Jeff Shih, and I am an associate dean from the College of Education at UNLV.

Welcome to this four-part video series about "Building Trauma-Informed Schools."

This program is the result of a partnership between UNLV and the Clark County School District and is funded by UNLV President Keith Whitfield through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

These videos offer information to help educators support students with a history of traumatic experiences.

Since trauma can impact a student's emotions, behavior and ability to learn, it is an important topic to address.

We hope that this series is helpful to educators who are working so diligently to support student mental health and learning.

-Hello.

My name is Bob Weires, and I'm the director of psychological services, Clark County School District.

We all recognize the need to address the all-around development of our students, not just their academic achievement but also their social, emotional and behavioral functioning as well as their basic mental health.

The first video focuses on introducing signs and symptoms of potential trauma in students and how a multi-tiered system of supports framework can help address student needs.

Subsequent videos will provide strategies and other guidance for working with all students, or tier 1, targeted groups of at-risk students, or tier 2, and intensive interventions and supports for specific students, or tier 3.

Each video in the series will include a variety of panelists from UNLV and CCSD.

They will begin by providing information about trauma exposure and the varied reactions children may experience.

They will address multi-tiered systems of support, mental health, social-emotional learning and supports available within CCSD.

As working with traumatized students can be challenging, the series will conclude with a focus on educator wellness.

We trust you will find these professional learning sessions both informative and helpful, so please enjoy them.

Thank you.

-Hello, welcome.

I'm Joe Roberts, director for the Clark County School District Crisis Response Team.

Thank you for joining us for Building Trauma-Informed Schools to Support Student Mental Health and Learning, a partnership between the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the Clark County School District.

Joining me are Anne Marie Abruscato.

She's a visiting lecturer with the University of Nevada School of Social Work.

As a licensed clinical social worker, she has provided trauma-based therapy for children and adults in the Las Vegas Valley for over 21 years.

Dr. Samuel Song, program coordinator and professor with the University of Nevada School Psychology Program.

He has been a school psychologist and an educator for 15 years.

He's also the president of the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association and is interested in culturally responsible school mental health practices.

Luis Martinez, a licensed master social worker since June of 2019 and is serving as a school social worker and clinical social work intern at Rancho High School.

Outside of Clark County School District, he helps clients who struggle with depression, anxiety, religious and sexual trauma.

And Julia Bush.

She has been an educator for 31 years, including 26 years in the Clark County School District as a school counselor at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

While at Burkholder Middle School, she was a member of the school counseling department that received national recognition from the American School Counselor Association in 2014 and in 2020.

Julia serves on various Clark County School District and state committees advocating for the profession.

Julia was recognized as the 2019 Nevada School Counselor of the Year.

Currently, Julia is a school counselor at Foothill High School.

And myself, with over 20-plus years in public education having served as teacher, school administrator and school psychologist and director of the Crisis Response Team.

I'm looking forward to a thoughtful discussion on trauma-informed instruction, especially in these difficult times where a variety of traumas have become apparent.

Today we will be covering trauma-informed strategies that can be implemented at the tier 2 level and supports that are available within the Clark County School District.

We have learned throughout the pandemic that trauma comes in many forms.

In the last session, we focused on what makes schools trauma-informed, and we will review some of that information today as well.

Anne Marie, can you provide us a reminder of what is trauma.

(Anne Marie Abruscato) Trauma is an experience that threatens someone's life or threatens their physical or emotional well-being.

It's often a shocking situation that is out of someone's control.

It usually evokes fear and helplessness, and it overwhelms the person's ability to cope.

-Sam, let's discuss what implementing trauma-informed care within schools and classrooms would look like.

(Dr. Samuel Song) Sure.

Trauma-informed schools recognize the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledge the role trauma may play in an individual's life.

They change the organizational culture, or systems change, to emphasize respecting and appropriately responding to the effects of trauma at all levels.

For example, "MTSS" is a model of multiple levels of support.

It also requires a paradigm shift from asking the question what is wrong with this person to asking what has happened to this person.

Schools should actively avoid re-traumatization.

We want to work to avoid situations and environments that resemble an individual's trauma literally or symbolically, as those could trigger difficult feelings and reactions associated with the original trauma.

The most important part is seeing the whole individual, taking into consideration how the child sees themselves, others and the world based on their experiences.

-Thank you, Dr. Song.

Luis, how does this fit into MTSS?

(Luis Martinez) So as Patrice shared in the first session, the Multi-Tiered System of Supports, also known as "MTSS," takes a proactive approach in identifying students with academic challenges, social-emotional needs or behavioral needs.

Being a trauma-informed school is the goal, and the MTSS is how schools accomplish that goal for a variety of reasons.

The multi-tiered, trauma-informed school approach may look different from school to school, but the MTSS models give schools the flexibility on meeting the needs of their own particular school.

Tier 1 provides universal support to all students, tier 2 offers support to target groups, and tier 3 provides more intensive individualized support.

-So Luis, it is my understanding that tier 2 supports are geared towards a smaller number of students.

Can you tell us more about this?

-Absolutely.

Tier 2 interventions become more targeted in our approach in practicing specific skill-building techniques.

Tier 2 support can be delivered in the following form of small groups: Mentoring, social and emotional learning in small groups or in the classroom, grief and loss groups, groups to support changes in a family structure.

So from a two-parent household to a single-parent household, or when family members are added.

Changes in dynamics within the family, and then changes to the family due to outside factors.

In some schools you might see gang prevention and intervention groups that bring awareness, educate and problem-solve for students involved in those things.

You may also see truancy prevention groups that involve the family to address barriers to school attendance.

In our next session, we will go more in depth into tier 3.

Tier 3 support interventions are delivered in a one-to-one format where the student is seen more frequently, and it is more geared toward individual students and their families.

-Anne Marie, what is trauma-informed care?

-So trauma-informed care principles include safety, both physical and emotional safety; choice, giving the students choice and control; collaboration through making decisions together; trustworthiness by being clear and consistent, and empowerment through promoting skill-building.

Teachers play a crucial role in implementing these principles within schools.

Sam, can you say more about that?

-Sure.

As a classroom teacher, you are the expert in the classroom.

You want to model healthy emotional reactions, model healthy problem-solving, know when to refer students to mental health supports, and finally we want to create a space conducive to the learning environment accounting for the diversity of students and experiences in your classroom as a means to support learners.

-So Dr. Song, what is tier 2, or can you tell me more about tier 2?

-Sure.

As Luis shared, some students require additional support in schools to be successful, and research has shown that to be approximately 20% of the student population.

An important assumption is that tier 1 strategies are in place and going well as the first line of support that sets the foundation for success.

Teachers and administrators need to ask themselves, am I doing tier 1 strategies, and is there anything I can do to enhance them?

On the other hand, it's also important to realize that even with a solid foundation of tier 1 support, some students simply require additional support to thrive.

Said another way, tier 1 is not going to be enough for all students, but it is an essential component for effective tier 2 strategies.

-Thank you, Sam.

I love the word "thrive."

Every time you say that particular word in that-- I love it.

Luis, how do schools use tier 2 interventions when addressing students with trauma?

-That is a great question, Joe.

First, it's important to state that one of the main goals is to help schools identify and respond to students and staff who are at risk or have been exposed to trauma and/or loss in ways that meet their unique exposures, experiences, developmental and personal needs.

So identifying students can be an obstacle in tier 2 services because students typically do not have the vocabulary to name and describe their experiences.

They usually speak in the form of behaviors like fighting, bullying, self-harm and emotional distress.

Those students may say they're fine; their behavioral say otherwise.

The solution is using different evidence-based tools to gain an understanding of the student without being invasive to their privacy.

These tools help schools identify students who may not want to talk about their experiences or don't have the words to express them.

One of the tools we use in CCSD is the Panorama Survey.

This survey identifies where schools can help strengthen social and emotional learning skills.

The Panorama Survey provides social and emotional data based on student ability and skills.

Another tool we use is the referral system within the school.

Teachers are the frontline workers of the district.

They spend more time with the students than any other staff in the school.

Questionnaires are useful at gaining data for moments in time, but teachers give information in realtime because what they see and hear can give a more in-depth understanding of the situation when a referral is sent in.

Not only teachers but administration and student referrals give the SBIT a better understanding of what the needs are in the school.

Finally, school data is a tool we use to find trends in academic behavior, attendance and CIS reports that give a better understanding of what is happening in the school and what needs to be addressed.

Tier 2 offers support to students who would benefit from a smaller group format.

The small group format creates a safe environment for students and allows space to build trust and work on skill building; however, it can be complicated to deliver tier 2 interventions for a few reasons.

Number one is scheduling.

Middle and high schoolers can have up to four to six teachers per day, and making sure that our group time doesn't take away from the class can be tricky.

Another reason is not every school has access to school social workers or Safe School professionals to facilitate or guide teachers with tier 2 interventions.

Finally, stigma and cultural beliefs can also be a reason.

A student may not want to be part of a small group because of the stigma around the expression of emotions and experiences.

It can be scary for him or her to be vulnerable.

Julia, what are some of the key items to consider when implementing tier 2 supports?

-Luis, the first key to supporting students in tier 2 interventions is to build a strong connection in relationships.

Small group counseling offers a setting where students can learn from one another.

As students share their experiences, they support one another and create a climate of trust.

Knowing that their peers are facing similar challenges and struggles assures them that they are not alone.

In tier 2 intervention, school counselors are able to provide school support for students to strengthen their knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Another key factor that's important to note is that many tier 2 supports are already being implemented in the schools and in the classrooms.

An example would be if a school counselor provided a tier 1 classroom lesson for all students on coping skills observing that some students, or tier 2, may need additional assistance in applying the skills that were taught to the whole group.

The students could be referred to the school counselor for additional practice or reteaching.

Also, if the teacher feels comfortable reinforcing these skills, it can be done right in the classroom.

For example, the teacher may review with some students these coping skills when they're feeling nervous about a big test or a project in the classroom.

Another scenario of tier 2 support that happens informally, particularly at the elementary level, is when teachers or support staff reinforce previously learned coping skills during a playground dispute among peers.

Next, staff and administration support is key for tier 2 interventions to be successful.

It's imperative to have a staff training regarding tiered intervention, explaining what each share will look like, when and how interventions will take place, and how all staff can support one another to benefit students.

For example, a teacher understands the reason a student may need to attend a small group and this instruction.

As a student strengthens their skills, their academic performance will be positively impacted.

-Anne Marie, are there any developmental differences of which we should be aware of?

-Yes.

Repeated trauma and loss early in childhood can create these cumulative negative effects on development, and this complex trauma creates symptoms that are much more complicated than those we see with single-incident trauma exposure.

Developmental trauma includes things that happen even before the child was born.

If their mother while pregnant faced toxic stress, trauma or used substances, if that child is then born into an environment that is chronically stressful, abusive or neglectful, this can create long-term difficulties with mental health, physical health, behavior and learning.

It doesn't matter if they don't remember any of the trauma that happened.

It can still create long-term effects, especially if they didn't have any supportive, nurturing relationships to mediate those negative effects.

So these students may constantly be in survival mode, making it really hard for them to listen and learn.

So developmentally appropriate trauma-informed schools would recognize that trauma can affect students' development emotionally, cognitively and behaviorally.

Also, they will consider a child's developmental level when addressing their educational needs including classroom structure and individualized supports.

And in thinking about additional support, can you say more about important partnerships, Sam?

-Sure.

Partnerships are critical because we can't do it alone.

First of course there's so much expertise in the school communities right now, so for example there's so much expertise among administrators, teachers, psychologists, social workers, counselors, coaches and nurses.

Families of course are essential too because they're so important to understand our students, their culture, their strengths, and they're great partners for support across home and school settings which is really important.

Families are also helpful because they emphasize our responsibility as professionals to bring culture to the forefront of our thinking and practice or being culturally responsible.

We need to see students and their family strengths, have humility in our stance towards different cultures, and address systemic practices, countering cultural responsiveness in schools.

As discussed in previous sessions for example, we can review policies and procedures to identify and address standard practices that may adversely and disproportionately impact specific groups of students and potentially exacerbate traumatic stress or loss reactions.

We also want to pay particular attention to cultural practices of families, such as disciplinary practices, in a manner that protects the student while respecting and understanding the cultural frame of the family.

What is a strength at home for example is not always viewed as a strength at school.

So we need to be humble and grow in our understanding of different cultures.

Julia, can you share more about specific tier 2 interventions.

-Sure, Dr. Song.

Here are some examples of tier 2 topics or themes that you may see in our schools at the elementary, middle or high school level: Social and emotional learning, academic improvement, behavior management, bullying prevention, growth versus fixed mindset, grief and loss, peer support groups, responsible decision-making, self-management and community circles.

Joe, can you tell us more about tier 2 interventions regarding crisis response?

-Sure, Julia.

Most often, tier 2 type interventions that we see within the Clark County School District that involves the Crisis Response Team results in the death of a staff member or a student.

However, there are other circumstances that can call for tier 2 interventions such as an accident on the playground or an automobile- pedestrian accident near or in front of the school.

These circumstances, we utilize psychological first-aid for addressing the impact of the incident and provide tier 2 small group counseling for students who are impacted by say grief and loss.

These activities include sharing of memories, writing condolence cards for the family, creating memory wreaths, memory bracelets and other activities.

All of these activities are designed to assist the students acknowledge their loss in a healthy way and resume school activities as things return to normal.

More information and professional learning on psychological first-aid, or PFA for short, postvention and crisis response can be found within the QR codes that will be shown in the upcoming slides.

Now we would like to discuss some of the frequently asked questions that we've talked about in past sessions that will be helpful for our staff.

Julia, what types of small groups do you provide in schools, and how do you decide who's invited to participate?

-Joe, that depends on the needs of the school.

We look at what students need by utilizing our data in the buildings.

If we start to see a large number of students for the same reasons, say peer conflict for example, then these students would be a perfect fit for a small group to teach and provide additional support.

In the past we've had very specific topics such as anger management, for example.

Now you see that groups are moving towards not a specific problem but an overall support model or community circles to improve academics, behavior and/or attendance.

There's definitely some barriers to the implementation of tier 2.

Such constraints can be administration or staff buy-in, and open communication and understanding of tier 2 intervention is a must for success.

Another barrier is student attendance.

Students needing additional supports are often the ones that are absent from school.

Lastly, parental permission for formal small groups can be challenging to obtain.

We know this information, but we know this can't stand in the way of helping our students.

-Sam, What can teachers do for tier 2 interventions?

-There are a number of informal group strategies that a teacher can do in addition to tier 1 in the classroom.

The first one is social-emotional learning curriculum that's done in small groups, so the teachers can actually teach some of these skills to a smaller group of students.

Another one is restorative and community circles with small groups of students.

The third would be focusing on building relationships with students with whom a teacher's relationship is strained or could be improved.

So a teacher could identify some of the students in the classroom and do some activities that would build rapport and trust and relationships.

-All very good points.

Luis, what does the teacher do if an intervention does not work?

-So there are a few things, key things that teachers can do.

First, staff it with colleagues.

Staffing is a word in the clinical world that really means just having a conversation and collaborating with other professionals who might give you additional insight into the situation.

The next idea if an intervention doesn't work is to collaborate with your SBIT members.

Remember, they're put in place to aid the teacher in being an effective educator.

As an SBIT member, I love when teachers approach me to collaborate about a student because it builds a lot of trust with the teachers.

Always have more than one intervention in mind.

Just like teaching, one size doesn't fit all.

You can easily get frustrated or discouraged when one or two of the interventions used won't work, and you're left wondering what to do next.

Finally, when an intervention does not work, instead of getting critical of the situation, get curious.

Curiosity will remove the temptation to blame yourself, the student or the situation.

It will instead prime your mind to be solution-focused instead of problem-focused.

-Thank you, Luis.

I love "prime" and "curiosity."

Love it.

Excuse me.

Julia, when should a teacher refer a student to the Safe Schools social worker or school psychologist for counseling?

-As Luis said earlier Joe, staffing or collaboration is imperative from the beginning.

If the academics, behavior or attendance does not improve with the teacher's formal or informal tier 1 or tier 2 interventions or continues to deteriorate, it's time to get help and make a referral.

Also, teachers or staff members can always reach out to their school-based intervention team members for advice and support.

Communication is the key here.

-Thank you.

As a reminder, all Clark County School District schools have a school-based intervention team.

School-based intervention teams are comprised or composed of licensed school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, school social workers and Safe Schools professionals.

Each school may differ a little bit depending upon the professionals that are there on-site.

For all CCSD employees, there are additional professional learning courses that can be accessed through the Enterprise Learning Management System or "ELMS" for short.

By searching keywords "trauma," you'll find more information about this topic.

Your school counselor and/or your school social worker at your school site will also have additional resources and information for you.

On the screen now you will see the additional resources with those QR codes.

So in conclusion, I would like to thank you, panelists, for those insightful points and strategies to help us as educators assist our students living with trauma today.

We reviewed the foundations of trauma, trauma-informed care, trauma-informed schools, tier 2 strategies and supports that are available within the Clark County School District.

On behalf of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Clark County School District and Vegas PBS, I'd like to thank our panelists for joining us today: Anne Marie Arbuscato, Dr. Samuel Song, Luis Martinez and Julie Bush.

We appreciate your insight into this extremely critical issue, and I hope we were able to provide you with a clearer understanding of the foundations of trauma and the challenges facing our educational system and provide tangible steps for solutions and support.

And thank you to the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 for funding this project, exemplifying their commitment to the welfare of Nevada's children.