Community Meeting: Martinsburg

Community Meeting: Martinsburg

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 cornerstone 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.