Member Meetings>Spring 2008 Member Meeting
Spring Meeting*
Responding to Childhood Trauma: Lessons Learned
May 14-17, 2008
Royal Sonesta Hotel
New Orleans, Louisiana
Our Spring Meeting was a great success! The primary topical focus of our meeting was Responding to Childhood Trauma: Lessons Learned. About 200 special education professionals from over 50 member districts participated and reported that they found the speakers and presentations on childhood trauma to be interesting and useful. Please read on for a description of our keynote speakers and a summary of the concurrent presentations from the meeting. (You have to be a member of the Collaborative in order to download the actual presentations.)
Keynote Speakers:
To help our members understand the impact and implications of childhood trauma on education in urban school districts, we had Dr. Robert F. Anda and Dr. Carl C. Bell, two leading researchers and experts in the field, speak and serve as discussion leaders.
Robert F. Anda, M.D., MS, has designed and conducted epidemiologic studies for more than 20 years. He was Co-Principal Investigator for the ACE Study; perhaps the largest scientific study of its kind, analyzing the relationship between multiple categories of childhood trauma and health and behavioral outcomes later in life.
Carl C. Bell, M.D., F.A.P.A., C.C.H.P., F.A.C. Psych. has practiced psychiatry for 35 years. He is internationally recognized lecturer and author; he has given numerous presentations on mental wellness, violence prevention, and traumatic stress caused by violence.
District Presentations:
- Building Capacity to Manage Social, Emotional and Behavioral Issues: A Clinical Consultation Team Model (CCT)
- Brockton Public Schools, MA
Presenters: Kay Seale, Carolyn Kay, Vincent Cerce, John Snelgrove, and Michelle Lanner
The Brockton Public Schools’ Clinical Consultation Team (CCT) has been developed for the purpose of promoting a safe learning community to meet the needs of at risk students. The CCT works with building level administrators, school adjustment counselors, psychologist, teachers, and support staff through consultation, building level training and seminars, and case management given collaboration with outside agencies. This approach ensures that schools are caring and supportive places that maximize learning and promote the well being of students, families, schools, and neighborhoods. The Team offers a variety of services including: psychological, psychiatric and behavioral consultation, Response to Intervention approach to assist schools in the development of appropriate data collection to measure outcomes, Functional Behavioral Assessment, on-going building level seminars and case conference and recommendations regarding community based interventions. The session included strategies to build similar capacity within your school district.
- Community Collaboration Tricks of the Trade: Maximizing Existing Support for Children Experiencing Homelessness
- Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Presenters: Kathi Sheffel, Myriam Goldin, and Alice Farling
Homeless children are often working with multiple agencies in addition to school staff. This workshop focused on the unique needs of homeless children, including those with disabilities, and the various symptoms that these students may present in the school setting. Emphasis will be placed on the effective use of multi agency case management. An overview of the psychological, emotional, behavioral and clinical implications of the trauma associated with homelessness and its impact on learning was presented. Understanding the concept of trauma sensitive schools was addressed and the development of a comprehensive school plan was illustrated. Examples of how the school environment and climate can foster success for these vulnerable children was. The workshop included interactive exercises using case studies to brainstorm strategies for maximizing services for homeless children.
- Responding to School-Aged Children after Hurricane Katrina
- LSU Health Services Center, New Orleans, LA
Presenters: Mindy Kronenberg and Michelle Many
This presentation focused on the work of the LSUHSC Department of Psychiatry Trauma Team with displaced and returning children to the Metropolitan New Orleans area during the 2 ½ years following Hurricane Katrina. Results will be reported from National Child Traumatic Stress Network assessments of over 12,000 displaced children returning to the Metropolitan New Orleans area between late 2005 and 2007 and displaced children in receiving parishes in 2006 and 2007. Discussion of the need to implement resilience building and trauma focused services in school settings was included. Finally, there was a consideration of lessons learned about work with children and families in the aftermath of our country’s worst natural and man-made disaster.
- Childhood Trauma: Minimizing the Impact on Students with Special Needs
- NYC Community District 75, NY
Presenters: Dana Ashley and Kenneth Stark
In such a diverse social, economic, and political environment as NYC, trauma can be seen to take many forms. It may include gang pressure, gang violence, large scale catastrophes which often occur without warning and various types of disturbing events occurring in individual families or households, behind closed doors. Sooner or later, intentionally or unconsciously, we see the effects in our students’ behaviors, especially those struggling with pre-existing physical and emotional challenges. Both are ways of letting us know their pain and struggle. We cannot afford to be complacent. We must be cognizant of their needs develop programs, strategies and interventions to help them overcome the challenges that these traumas present.
In examining the process of how trauma affects us, we, at District 75, are taking a multifaceted approach to minimize the consequences of trauma: dealing with the immediate crisis, learning how to understand the root causes of the trauma, and instituting preventive or prophylactic programs to both diminish exposure to trauma and when faced with events, minimize their impact. The presentation discussed how our responses to crisis, such as the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, have changed in terms of safety planning for students with physical and emotional disabilities. It also focused on the structures and programs that have been put in place by District 75 to insure an appropriate and timely response to traumatic events and to assist school staff in developing a greater understanding of trauma and stress in their students with disabilities.
- What Happens When "Trauma" Goes to School?
- Northside Independent School District, San Antonio, TX
Presenters: Deborah Healy, Don Schmidt, and Rita Villalpando
Perhaps, the most impactful elements of trauma tend to center around its being sudden, overwhelming, unpredictable, unwelcome, and painful. School rules and routines are disrupted and may pale in comparison to the magnitude of threat and potential suffering. Taking charge proactively of those variables open to our control can help to stabilize the environment and enhance the effectiveness of school professionals charged with safeguarding the physical and emotional safety of students.
Northside Independent School District (NISD) implemented a Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SSHS) Federal Grant from 2000-2006. In the aftermath of Columbine and September 11 th, all SSHS sites around the nation gave focused attention to working with students and families to address trauma, loss and grief through 6 Critical Elements – Educational Reform, Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention, Early Childhood Initiatives, Mental Health and Social Service Intervention, School Safety, and Safe School Policies.
NISD consistently strengthens its trauma response protocols – training and organizing its 240 school counselors to cultivate safe schools and healthy parent and community involvement; and to stand ready to methodically and compassionately respond to a critical incident or traumatic event.
- New Orleans Rising: Our Children, Our Future
- Recovery School District, New Orleans, LA
Presenters: Diana Jones and Debra Morton
Presenters identified the multiple levels of stress and trauma that occurred in New Orleans. Current models of recovery presume that systems of support are in place to draw upon resources to aid the healing and recovery process. Presenters described the limits of those models when applied to the destruction and recovery of the city of New Orleans. The Recovery School District was one of the first responders post- Hurricane Katrina and has begun rebuilding the system of education and support for children and their families as well as school personnel. The presentation reviewed the psycho-social impact on all children as well as the extended parameters of the impact on children with special needs. Information was provided regarding what happened, what has been done and is being done, lessons learned and plans for the future.
- Fighting an Urban Suicide Contagion: Finding Sunshine after the Storm
- Waukegan Public Schools, IL
Presenters: Christina Conolly-Wilson and Jim Graff
This session helped participants understand the effects of suicides and suicide contagion on a school district. The presenter discussed: research-based strategies for post-suicide intervention; preventing suicide contagion; cultural factors impacting suicide intervention efforts; and the strategies for effectively implementing the "Signs of Suicide Prevention Program" at the secondary level. Suicide contagion can be one of the most fearful events that a school can experience. Since suicide contagion is not well understood, workshop participants learned from the experiences of others in order to understand what each person can do to prevent suicide contagion from occurring. Workshop participants left this session with a to-do list for suicide prevention and postvention.
