Trauma-Sensitive Schools for the Adolescent Years: Promoting Resiliency and Healing, Grades 6-12

by Susan E. Craig, Jim Sporleder

Overview

The trauma-sensitive schools movement is the result of a confluence of forces that are changing how educators view students’ academic and social problems, including the failure of zero tolerance policies to resolve issues of school safety, bullying, and academic failure, as well as a new understanding of adolescents’ disruptive behavior.

In this follow-up to her bestseller, Trauma-Sensitive Schools, Susan Craig provides secondary school teachers and administrators with practical ideas for how to improve students’ achievement by implementing a trauma-sensitive approach to instruction. Along with clear explanations of the role that childhood adversity and trauma play in determining academic success, readers will find dozens of concrete strategies to help them:

• View poor academic and social progress through a trauma-sensitive lens.
• Create a school climate that fosters safety and resiliency in vulnerable teenagers.
• Establish relationships with students that support their efforts to self-regulate.
• Design instruction that reflects the social nature of the brain.
• Work with the brain’s neuroplasticity to increase adolescents’ executive functioning.
• Reduce teacher attrition in high-risk schools by decreasing secondary traumatic stress.
• Influence educational reforms by aligning them with current research on childhood trauma and its effects on learning.

Book Features:

• Provides an overview of the effects of three types of trauma on adolescent development: early childhood adversity, community violence, and systemic inequities.
• Links the effects of trauma on students’ cognitive development to educational reform efforts.
• Integrates research on adolescents’ neurodevelopment and current educational best practices.
• Builds the capacity of education professionals to successfully manage the behavior of adolescents with symptoms of complex developmental trauma.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807758250
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	09/08/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	168
Sales rank:	1,094,956
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Susan E. Craig is an independent consultant to school systems nationwide on topics such as inclusion, effects of violence, trauma-sensitive schools, positive behavior support, differentiated instruction, and integrated therapies. Dr. Craig is a sought-after public speaker and professional developer, offering in-person training anywhere in the United States. Invite Dr. Craig to your facility to train your staff. Visit her blog: www.meltdownstomastery.wordpress.com

Table of Contents

Foreword Jim Sporleder ix

Introduction 1

The Adolescent Brain 2

Design of the Book 3

Conclusion 4

1 Trauma-Sensitive Secondary Schools 5

The Importance of the Trauma-Sensitive Schools Movement 5

A New Vision for Promoting Adolescent Resilience 9

Implications for Educational Reform 13

Conclusion 15

2 Addressing the Many Faces of Adolescent Trauma 16

The Prevalence of Trauma and Its Effects on Adolescent Neural Development 16

Trauma and Marginalization 22

Healing Trauma Through Inclusion: What Schools Can Do 25

Implications for Educational Reform 28

Conclusion 30

3 Remodeling the Adolescent Brain for Adulthood 31

Neural Development in Adolescence 31

Changes in Cognitive Functioning Related to Neural Changes 35

Threats to Successful Remodeling 41

Implications for Educational Reform 44

Conclusion 45

4 Re-Traumatization on the Streets 46

Types of Adolescent Victimization 46

From Victim to Offender 49

Trauma as a Gateway Drug 52

Implications for Educational Reform 55

Conclusion 56

5 The Neurobiology of Interdependence 57

Attachment, Individuation, and Trauma 57

Attachment and Behavior 62

Attachment and Social Interdependence 65

Adult Patterns of Attachment 68

Implications for Educational Reform 70

Conclusion 72

6 The Teacher's Role in Trauma-Sensitive Schools 74

Designing Trauma-Sensitive Instruction 74

Implementation of a Tiered System of Support 79

The Value of Collaborative Partnerships with Students 83

Implications for Educational Reform 85

Conclusion 87

7 Trauma and Resilience 88

Fostering a Culture of Connection 88

Facilitating Positive Peer Interactions 91

Resilience and Adversarial Growth 94

Implications for Educational Reform 96

Conclusion 98

8 The Effects of Secondary Trauma on Teachers' Lives 99

Sources of Teacher Stress 99

The Buffering Effects of Training 101

Promoting Teacher Resilience 104

Implications for Educational Reform 107

Conclusion 109

9 Next Steps: Managing the Necessary Changes to School Policies and Practices 110

Changing the Culture of Secondary Schools 110

Targeted and Necessary Administrative Leadership and Support 113

Creating an Action Plan for Implementation 115

Implications for School Reform 118

Conclusion 120

Appendix A Resources for Professional Development 121

Appendix B Finding Your ACE Score 126

References 128

Index 145

About the Author 158

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Susan Craig’s book provides the scientific evidence and the reasons why it is so critical that schools take this new path in serving our students.”
—From the Foreword by Jim Sporleder, retired in 2014 as principal of Lincoln High School, which was profiled in the documentary Paper Tigers

“Trauma Sensitive Schools for the Adolescent Years provides a uniquely comprehensive and accessible resource for all educators and school administrators. Craig offers clear descriptions of the scientific literature related to toxic stress and trauma, along with practical suggestions for implementing and promoting schoolwide practices to support and educate students with trauma histories.”
—Eric Rossen, PhD, NCSP, director, professional development and standards, National Association of School Psychologists

“Susan Craig gives an in-depth look into the impact of trauma on the adolescent brain along with ideas about how educators can foster resilience and support student learning for all. Trauma-Sensitive Schools for the Adolescent Years is packed with strategies for collaboration with adolescent learners to create classroom and school environments that truly have the power to be transformative. This is an essential book for any secondary educator or administrator.”
—Sara Daniel, MSW, LCSW, director of Clinical Services, SaintA Milwaukee, WI

“Susan Craig has done it again in this follow-up to Trauma-Sensitive Schools. If you’re an educator who’s curious about the science of adverse childhood experiences, about how the adolescent brain works and responds to trauma, about how kids’ trauma affects you, and about how this knowledge can help you be a better teacher, Trauma-Sensitive Schools for the Adolescent Years is a must-read book.”
—Jane Ellen Stevens, founder, ACEs Too High

Editorial Reviews

"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, Trauma-Sensitive Schools for the Adolescent Years: Promoting Resiliency and Healing, 6-12 is impressively informative and should be considered critically important reading for all classroom teachers working in junior and senior high schools. An extraordinary contribution to the field, it is unreservedly recommended for college and university library Teacher Education collections in general, and Adolescent Special Needs supplemental studies reading lists in particular."

—Midwest Book Review

"Throughout the book, Craig provides the reader with a thorough understanding of the implications of the effects of early childhood trauma as well as the role a school can play in providing students with a safe environment in which to heal. Craig’s focus on the collaborative approach that TSS provides to the community is further evidence of the need of TSS, specifically with regard to addressing needs of marginalized students."

—Teachers College Record

From the Publisher