Implementing Trauma-informed School Practices

Abstract

The evolving needs of one student, Mia, offer an opportunity to explore how disability and trauma interact with a transition to a new school. As Mia's behavior becomes increasingly worrisome within months of starting middle school, her teachers, one-to-one paraprofessional, and school leadership team face several dilemmas in the early stages of creating a trauma-informed school. The focus of this case is on three key elements: the degree to which Mia's team understood her needs and proactively prepared for her transition; the role of Mia's paraprofessional prior to, throughout, and after the transition; and the readiness of the school leadership team to address necessary systemic changes for the school to implement trauma-informed multi-tiered systems of support.