26 Schools Plan to Raise Awareness of Trauma-Informed Care.
School District U-46 is inviting local organizations to join the District in recognizing Wednesday, May 15 as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day. The approach supports an informed response to students experiencing adverse situations, both past and present, and it is gaining momentum in the state’s second-largest district and across the nation.
“Trauma-informed care is a vital component of U-46’s multi-tiered system of support,” said U-46 Director of School Safety and Culture John Heiderscheidt. “It provides social-emotional supports to students who need it the most, and helps them reach academic success as they overcome adverse experiences.”
The Illinois State Senate passed a resolution in March 2019 declaring May 15 as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day, and U-46 schools will be recognizing the day by raising awareness about the importance of trauma-informed care and how it provides social and emotional support for students who have experienced any adverse childhood experiences.
Trauma-informed care prepares educators and others to better respond to students with adverse childhood experiences. It is an approach that recognizes how these experiences may affect a child in the classroom, and it gives educators tools they can implement to support students who have experienced trauma. The Adverse Childhood Experiences study performed by the Center for Disease Control found that traumatic experiences during childhood have a tremendous impact on future social and health problems.
To support U-46 schools in providing trauma-informed care, the Alignment Collaborative for Education created a team focused on providing training to teams within U-46 schools, called resiliency teams. Since 2017, 26 schools in U-46 have formed resiliency teams.
On May 15, school resiliency team staff will tie a purple ribbon around the flagpole at their school and wear Trauma-Informed Care Awareness Day stickers in an effort to raise awareness and start conversations about trauma-informed care.
Local organizations are invited to join U-46 in recognizing May 15 as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day. Packets containing stickers and a purple ribbon will be available for pickup at the District’s Educational Service Center, 355 E. Chicago Street. More information about trauma-informed care can be found on the U-46 website.
ACE is a member of the Alignment USA communities of collaboration and collective impact.
