Trauma-Informed Schools in WV- Supporting Student Wellness 2022

This report was produced by Think Kids, a West Virginia 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of West Virginia's kids. The primary author of this report is Kelli Caseman, Think Kids' Executive Director. We appreciate the stakeholders who contributed their time to edit this document.

We'd like to thank the many volunteers and stakeholders who completed surveys, joined us for streaming events, and participated in community discussions. We also appreciate the students with the West Virginia University Schools of Public Health and Social Work who collaborated with us on this project We've learned so much and are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you

As always, we are especially thankful to UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc., an Elevance Health Company, for their financial support and encouragement of this project.

The ideas and experiences shared in this report are often those of project participants and do not necessarily reflect those of Think Kids or its funders.

A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

I n t r o d u c t i o n

What is trauma?

According to the American Psychological Association: Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.

What we've found over the course of this year in working on this project is that the way we individually define trauma can be very different, much as the way we perceive it, internally and with others, and the way we respond to it, particularly in such public settings as schools.

In West Virginia, how each county and school addresses trauma can be very different. While the West Virginia Department of Education offers a wealth of resource links for school climate resources, there are no statewide guiding policies for making schools more trauma-informed. There is no statewide assessment underway to study which counties or schools are implementing trauma-informed strategies, and there are no evaluation plans or data to help inform the efficacy of what schools are implementing across our state.

Still, some counties and communities are doing great work that could be replicated across the state.

And so, this project was a first step in creating a greater dialogue around the concept of trauma-informed schools— what's working, what's needed, and what can be done to improve how we address trauma in the school setting in West Virginia.

Because it is only a collective first step forward, this report is by no means exhaustive of the work done around the state, from the state to school level, to address student trauma. We hope that educators and advocates share more insight in an effort to coalesce our individual work into a more collective, unified approach

For schools making an effort to train staff, educate families, and implement trauma-informed policies and practices, thank you. May we learn from your example.

As part of this project, students with the West Virginia University Schools of Public Health and Social Work disseminated a Trauma-Informed Schools Survey to school personnel around the state in early 2022 and the fall. Nearly a thousand emails were sent; 98 complete responses were received.

Our goal was to get a general overview of whether school staff perceived their schools as trauma-informed and what types of programs and services were provided to meet this criterion.

Further survey results can be found on our project webpage.

Do you have mental health resources available in your school, such as dedicated school staff, programs, and services?

Does your school or schools offer programs or resources available for struggling parents?

Does your school or schools work in conjunction with you local police department on any other collaborative programs?

Does your school implement positive and proactive supports rather than punitive and reactive discipline to promote socially responsible behavior?

C o m m u n i t y M e e t i n g : M a r t i n s b u r g

Think Kids held two community meetings in counties that had been identified as prioritizing trauma-informed schools as a priority, but in different ways. We've included recaps of conversations with panelists working in the schools, doing this important work in Berkeley and Monongalia Counties.

Panelists

Paul Baker: Principal at Bunker Hill Elementary, Berkeley County Schools

Jennifer Burroughs: Lead Social Worker for The Martinsburg Initiative

Margaret Kursey: Director of Administration, The Martinsburg Initiative

Christine Redstreake: School Counselor at Mountain Ridge Intermediate, Berkeley County Schools

Teri Wilson: Social Worker with The Martinsburg Initiative at Burke Street Elementary & Berkeley Heights Elementary

We began the conversation in Martinsburg by asking: What is childhood trauma, and how have you seen its effects evolve in West Virginia's schools?

Panelists defined childhood trauma as an event, a situation, or/and an environment of an actual or perceived threat to a child's physical or emotional well-being The DSM-5 defines trauma as a serious threat to a person's physical or psychological well-being.

When children or adolescents experience situations like a divorce, witness domestic abuse, have a family member incarcerated, or experience a parent or caregiver overdose, their world doesn't stop or pause. They're still expected to attend school and learn as if none of these things are happening or relevant to the learning experience

But we now know that these adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to such things as chronic diseases, mental illness, and substance use disorder in adulthood.

Emerging research also shows that trauma can be passed down instilled in generations of families through genetic changes to a person's DNA after they experience trauma. In this regard, trauma isn't just an event. It's how people are "wired." Families who have struggled with ACEs sometimes raise children who have inherited their trauma on the genetic level.

And so, the panelists explained, sometimes students come to school stressed and don't have the tools to handle the classroom expectations and rules The teacher may not have the tools to manage that child. And it creates a

particularly unproductive environment where more students are coming to school who have experienced trauma, and school staff is without the tools to help them succeed

We know that trauma can impact school performance and impair learning. It can affect impulse control, lack of concentration, and poor coping skills It can lead good kids to act out; without the necessary training, teachers can make the lives of these children even more challenging.

Panelists emphasized the importance of "meeting students where they are" and addressing the unmet needs that may inhibit their ability to learn. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs tells us that unless children have basic physiological, safety, and belonging needs met, they are incapable of learning.

Implementing a trauma-informed approach that benefits all staff and students is a comprehensive way to ensure that the needs of all children and staff are considered, because the consequences of experiencing trauma are often invisible. These strategies aren't just about diffusing adverse behaviors. The approach is more about building a nurturing relationship with students, so they will trust school staff enough to articulate their needs to them so they can be met. It's about recognizing that students struggle with issues that are invisible to others that will adversely affect their ability to learn and in the broader context, a classroom's and school's ability to learn.

And so, the most responsible support a school system can provide is to ensure that it incorporates trauma-informed practices at every level student, class, and school culture

The Martinsburg Initiative (TMI) is a nonprofit organization that unites the community, Martinsburg police department, Berkeley County Schools, healthcare organizations, Shepherd University, and community resource providers in a full spectrum prevention effort to break the cycle of addiction and mitigate the risk factors for substance misuse while building a strong safety net for children and families. The corner-

stone of their work is a variety of community and classroom-based trainings designed to instruct educators and community members with the necessary tools that they can use to encourage a trauma-sensitive mindset.

And their training capacity is growing For example, they routinely teach an eight-course class in trauma for educators Three years ago, they trained 18 Last year, they trained 57 Interest continues to grow, and they struggle to meet the need.

But they know the classes work. Pre- and post-tests are administered during every course, measuring the change in educator knowledge and use in trauma-sensitive practices. From their last training group, they documented an 80 percent change in perceptions and understanding of trauma-informed practices.

And this collaborative approach across organizations has nurtured their success and

broadened their scope. TMI works with families, schools, students, law enforcement, health care professionals, and community organizations One panelist called the organization "the glue that pulls the puzzle pieces together "

How TMI works with Berkeley County schools and community partners to achieve this is unique in West Virginia. Every county school system addresses trauma-informed care differently; there's no "right way" or state office providing oversight of how counties implement (or do not implement) trauma-informed practices. The local autonomy approach that our state has embraced has drawbacks and benefits. While some counties have little to no strategy to implement trauma-informed practices or policies, Berkeley County has the freedom to create its own model, and it's one that, for them, seems to be working quite well.

TMI advocates for a "top-down" model, and while this is challenging, after years of growth, they said that school staff love the training and don't perceive it as "just another thing" that the school system requires them to do They noted that the COVID-19 pandemic put their training and strategies to de-escalate adverse behaviors to the test, and it's helping keep kids and classrooms on track.

It was well-documented before and during the pandemic; there has been a global prevalence of poor mental health in children and adolescents. When returning to school, learning loss was coupled with aggressive and deviant behaviors, anxiety and depression, and a lack of social skills. And so, the goal to increase trauma-informed care has been a key strategy.

Panelists explained that many school staff already knew that practicing trauma-sensitive practices makes addressing such challenges easier; it increases educators' self-efficacy TMI observes educators one month and six months after training to see how they change their practices to incorporate what they've learned. What they've found were more confident educators.

Importantly, TMI recognizes that educators can't do this work alone.

They have 12 social workers on staff who work in the schools, and optimally, they'd like every school to have its own social worker This role is key to helping connect kids and their families and services that address social determinants of health resources one might find on the United Way's 211 website TMI and Berkeley County schools also work closely with several community resources, like People of Worth, St. Leo Catholic Church, CASA of the Eastern Panhandle, and the Family Resource Network of the Panhandle.

TMI also has a bi-directional relationship with Shepherd University. The university assists with data analytics, progress measures, and participates in TMI mentoring programs and internships. In return, TMI provides trauma awareness and other trainings to the university's education, social work, and sociology students.

While it's been no secret to educators and community stakeholders that abject poverty and the drug epidemic have increased the prevalence of ACEs, this hasn't changed how academia has been training future social workers and public school educators. TMI and Shepherd University are progressive in forming this partnership, and panelists agreed that by giving these future professionals the education and tools in advance, they're more apt to be prepared and engaged once employed. Panelists agreed that learning about childhood trauma should be included in their college curriculum.

TMI and Berkeley County Schools also partner with the Martinsburg Police Department.

Last year, a full-time social worker was employed and embedded within the department. Sh provides trauma kits for police to share with children and families and helps educate officers on how to work with children immediately after a traumatic event

TMI also works closely with Project AWARE, a five-year $9 million statewide grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support comprehensive plans of activities, services, and strategies to support the healthy development of school-aged children by addressing trauma, increasing resilience, and fostering positive factors. Berkeley County is one of eight counties participating in the grant.

It also collaborates with the school system and police department to implement the Handle with Care program Just last year, TMI worked with partners to successfully share 95 notifications between law enforcement and school children to ensure they were "handled with care" at school after a traumatic event at home

According to the panelists, all of this work is held together by collaboration and a shared interest in building resilience and support for their community's children and families. But this takes work. Consider some of the TMI milestones over the past few years:

·Trained 554 cumulative trauma-informed community partners, Shepherd University students, and 30 health care providers;

·Managed 11 afterschool programs;

·Taught 368 students in the Too Good for Drugs program;

·Oversaw eight mentors who mentored 59 students;

·Received 174 referrals, directing children and families to safety net services.

TMI robustly evaluates its work. It's impressive that they've worked with the CDC and the National Association of County and City Health Officials to compile, analyze, and evaluate the data By implementing a three-tier approach to prevention and a concerted effort to train staff and implement trauma-informed strategies, they've seen an increase in attendance, reduced adverse behavior, and improved grades Students in Tiers Two and Three have experienced a 50% increase in attendance in consecutive semesters, a 69% in improved grades, and 79% of them stayed the same or decreased referrals to the office.

At the end of the discussion, we asked the panelists: What remains challenges for you for TMI and Berkeley County Schools to creating trauma-informed schools in your county?

Funding: There is more demand from the school system and community than TMI can supply. They will need additional funding to provide more training and broaden their reach to neighboring counties

C o m m u n i t y M e e t i n g : M o r g a n t o w n

Panelists

Anne Greza- McKinney-Vento and Foster Care Liaison at Monongalia County Schools

Beth Nair- Monongalia County Schools

Outreach Facilitator (Serves two elementary schools in the county)

Michele Perozich- Monongalia County School Outreach Facilitator (Serves a high school and a technical education center)

Michael Ryan- Monongalia County Schools Coordinator of Student Supports

Anna Simmons- Licensed Professional Counselor and owner of Empowered Healing & Wellness

Note: For brevity's sake, we will refer to Monongalia County Schools as Mon County Schools.

We began the conversation by asking: What is childhood trauma, and how have you seen its effects evolve in West Virginia's schools?

Trauma presents itself in many different ways. It can be caused a specific event or challenging situation like drug use in the home, domestic violence, incarceration, or Child Protective Services intervention or it can be intergenerational or shared collectively by a family. It can overwhelm the nervous system's capacity to cope. Trauma is relative; each person experiences situations differently, so it's challenging to define it as a blanket experience or put everyone "under the same umbrella" as to how they experience it It's individualized and more about what is happening inside of us And it's critically important to remember that our minds and bodies remember trauma and that we benefit from the support of others to help us process it

When it comes to children, they can be in a state of trauma response to something as simple as being called on in class. Their little engines can "stay revved" no matter what's going on. Trauma affects their sleep, their behaviors, their ability to learn, and how they perceive and relate to their peers and surroundings.

At the elementary level, trauma can manifest itself in adverse behaviors These children cannot self-regulate They also don't possess the language to articulate how they feel They may be defiant, angry, and confront authority figures. Or. they may remain quiet, and to themselves, so their trauma response goes largely unnoticed, and they may not trust other people especially adults.

Importantly, the point that panelists were making was that in order to understand and respond to student trauma, one must know the student, and the student must trust the adult trying to help them. As one panelist put it, kids don't have "signs over their heads" that they are experiencing these things Panelists believed that it is the responsibility of the school system to have support services and responsive policies that universally include all students because everyone, at some moment, may need individualized support.

A great example of the importance of these school-student relationships is how schools identify homeless children and those in the foster care system needing additional support. Students and caregivers aren't required to report if a child is homeless or in the foster care system. People can be hesitant to disclose such information for a variety of reasons. They may choose to ignore enrollment forms So school staff is often tasked with identifying students in these situations so that the school can offer support

Mon County School's McKinney-Vento Liaison reported that they identified 467 McKinneyVento students last year. These are students who may not necessarily be in a shelter or on the streets, but they may live in sub-standard housing without heat or running water, or in a transient situation with no fixed or adequate residents.

Every county has a McKinneyVento Liaison, but sometimes they wear multiple hats, like the role of Attendance Director. Mon County has a person with the specific role of identifying and helping children who are deemed eligible for services under the McKinneyVento Act. She works in collaboration with outreach facilitators, a support staff position not found in many counties, who can help identify students for support and destigmatize services. They’re strategic in collaborating with other staff, like bus drivers, who can help Illuminate the circumstances in which children live and interact with others.

For some families, reaching out for help can be a daunting, sometimes frightening proposition, and sometimes school staff can be indirectly responsible for this They are mandated reporters, and one of the leading professionals to call child protective services (CPS) For school staff without knowledge or support, they may think that kids without coats, for example, or who divulge that they have no running water at home, are grounds for calling CPS. But in Mon County, students are instead referred to the outreach facilitators. The county created the position five years ago and has added two additional facilitators each year. Their salaries are paid from the county school budget, not the state.

These outreach facilitators described their relationship with CPS as productive, with bidirectional information shared in collaboration for the mutual benefit of the students They acknowledge that CPS is understaffed Sometimes, they work with school staff to help them understand the policy restrictions that inhibit CPS employees from sharing information about a child’s case. And sometimes, they work with students to help contact CPS if the child needs help.

Another key role that outreach facilitators play is connecting students to health care often,

behavioral health care. Panelists agreed that service capacity is limited in their area, despite being a central location for health services, with many students on long wait lists Navigating this system can be complicated; often, schools don’t have staff with the necessary expertise

Mon County Schools trains staff in Mental Health First Aid and hopes to expand the program's availability. They hope to offer an additional 60 spots. These trainings are funded through private grants and can be very expensive, costing $25 per person.

Also, two years ago, the school system began contracting with Panorama Education, a national organization that helps schools transform their approach to education by collecting valid and reliable feedback via student surveys, from feelings of belonging and teacher-student relationships to engagement and school safety

Panorama Education provides survey templates that they disseminate to students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year on different topic areas that the school system can choose It's real data from students about their lives, with questions about the dynamics of balancing school and their lives, their relationships with their parents, etc. The company analyzes the data and makes it available via a dashboard for school staff It's real data by students, about students what they believe their challenges are, how they perceive school, etc. Mon County was the first county school system in West Virginia to contract with Panorama Education; now, two more county school systems are using their services. Data remains internal, not shared with the public, and it helps the school adapt how it operates to respond to the needs of its students.

For many of us who work with children growing up in challenging spaces where poverty, domestic drug use, and other adverse childhood experience are prevalent, we often theorize how children are experiencing these circumstances. Mon County Schools take a qualitativedata-driven approach to address the social-emotional needs of its students.

Also unique to its model and shared with Berkeley County Schools’ approach to addressing “the whole child,” Mon County Schools cultivates relationships with community resource providers to address social determinants of health like transportation issues, food insecurity, housing, economic stability, etc They work with such groups as the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties, Monongalia County’s Family Resource Network, and Starting Points.

Finally, the panel showed genuine support for one another and the work they have accomplished together, especially most recently, as students reacclimated to the school setting after the pandemic shutdowns. They have successfully garnered additional grant funding from private foundations to support students and families, like creating an emergency use fund for support.

And their success has resulted in improved graduation rates a significantly higher rate of McKinney-Vento students graduating in 2021.

Still, challenges remain. While Monongalia is one of our state's most affluent counties, it still struggles with the same problems as other counties. While they have more mental health services, the capacity is limited. Public transportation is limited, and while the pandemic has made support for utilities and household expenses more available, the panel acknowledged that the funding will eventually end, thrusting families back into financial stress. The funding will be gone, but nothing will be fixed

And then, there’s the drug epidemic. Often hand in hand with the challenges of poverty is

substance use disorder. While panelists expressed frustration that student drug use has escalated, some critical mental health care services have ended For example, there once was a program for sexually reactive youth at Chestnut Ridge Center that is no longer there The children's crisis day program at United Summit Center in Harrison County is no longer there Thanks to a newly implemented WVDHHR policy, school staff can no longer make mental health care referrals themselves; parents have to call the Children's Crisis and Referral Line. Staff could check in on whether a child was successfully admitted; they can't now. Getting help, especially when young, is critical. Panelists have seen an increase in behaviors that they hadn't seen just ten years ago, like elementary students threatening to harm themselves and others. As kids age, fewer services are available to them, and often assistance turns to

punishment. By eighth grade, they may wind up arrested What may begin as recreational marijuana use may escalate to harder drugs By that time, if an adolescent needs drug treatment, it's very difficult to find a program unless they are involved in the court system or have private health insurance

So to the panel, their first recommendation is improving access to appropriate mental health care. Schools should be spaces where students feel safe, with staff who can connect students to appropriate care in the community but that care has to be available. We have to have services that heal the core of the problem, not just visible symptoms. Sticking a band-aid on trauma and sending students back to class won’t help them, emotionally or academically.

Panelists recommended for policymakers on both the state and local levels to visit communities resources and schools do things like follow a family through the process of what it is like for a family on TANF when they suffer the consequences of a parent testing positive for drug use, or participate in teen drug court, or even just walk the halls of a school when it's in session. What this generation of children are experiencing is vastly different than what older generations did. School staff are painfully aware of this; Mon County schools don’t look away from the students’ reality. They lean in and from what they learn, respond.

Students need understanding and guidance from trusted adults in the school system who can relate, respond, and connect them to the care they need

Similarly, our schools need state policymakers who won't turn a blind eye to the role schools must play in connecting kids to meaningful help when they need it. It's not just the right thing to do; it's the smart thing to do. Students in a traumatized state can't learn; schools can't teach them. The investment Mon County Schools makes in addressing trauma is an investment in the kids themselves and their futures.

The West Virginia Department of Education or other government or contracted agency should be responsible for data collection and evaluation of every county school system's response to traumainformed care.

Every county school system should share how it addresses student trauma on its website.

A public/private partnership should be formed to share best practices and emerging trends in successful programs and services supporting trauma-informed strategies, implemented on the county and school level, so counties can learn and grow from one another's successes.

Policymakers should get better connected with the school systems in their district. This relationship should include opportunities for policymakers to: ride along on school bus routes, walk the hallways while school is in session, and hold listening sessions with school staff centered on what students need to succeed in school.

More work should be done locally, led by the health care and public education systems, to connect pediatric mental health care providers with local school systems.

Our state needs a plan to expand adolescent drug treatment programs. There needs to be a centralized, updated site where parents and providers can easily access information, including capacity and the expected length of time if there is a waitlist.

Where institutions of higher learning are partnering with county school systems to train teachers, a robust educational component on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) should be encouraged and incorporated.

More funding should be allocated to train school staff on traumainformed care, building collaborations with community services, and recruiting teachers who have been or are willing to incorporate trauma-informed strategies in their classrooms.

R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s

How can we improve the traumainformed schools model in West Virginia?

Think Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit launched in 2020 with the goal of using data-driven advocacy to make meaningful change in West Virginia We work to ensure that all of our state's kids grow up healthy

We work to equip parents/guardians, professionals, community advocates, and care providers with resources and services that ensure that kids are raised in healthy spaces. And we inform and promote changes to local policies, systems, and environments to foster healthy living and prevent health inequities. We do this because kids are the most important investment we can make to change the trajectory of poor health outcomes in West Virginia.

We envision a day when all of West Virginia’s children are safe, healthy, and aspire to do great things.

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