Toolkit Overview
TRIS was established with a generous grant from the Blue and You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas and has received support from the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE).
Acknowledgements
What is TRIS?
TRIS is a collaboration between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the ADE, and other partners. The TRIS team at UAMS is made up of multidisciplinary professionals in areas of education, psychology, social work and media specialists. When a difficult event (e.g., the death of staff or student, act of violence, natural disaster, etc.) impacts your Arkansas school, our mental health experts in childhood trauma at TRIS can help you navigate the difficult time that follows. This is done through personalized consultation tailored to your school’s unique circumstances. TRIS also provides trainings for school personnel on trauma-informed practices, works with school leaders to foster trauma-informed schools, and partners with the AR ConnectNow program to link students, families, and staff to mental health services when needed following a crisis. Information about TRIS and their services can be found on our website. TRIS services are available at no cost to the schools thanks to generous support from our funders.
While TRIS remains available to walk alongside you should the unthinkable happen, proactive consideration of the steps your school or district takes in the wake of a tragedy can help you prepare. This toolkit equips school and district leaders with helpful information to consider when doing that. It does not replace individualized services available through TRIS.
If a difficult event impacts your school or district, we sincerely hope that your reach out to TRIS as one of your very first steps. Nobody should have to carry the weight of a crisis alone. We also encourage you to promptly review your school’s crisis plan and related school and district policies. Although the information in this toolkit may help you think through certain aspects of crisis response plans, it does not direct the formulation of operational plans, other preparedness practices (e.g., drills), or related policies. Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans is one example of a reliable resource, should you desire assistance with that.
Using This Toolkit
During a difficult event, it is challenging to find easy-to-read, reliable resources to assist you and your impacted community. Our team has written this toolkit to help school administrators and counselors with this struggle. It can be read straight through or used for quick reference. Links to resources and more in-depth information are provided throughout the toolkit. You may choose to read sections out of order, to read the entire resource at surface level and then click on links to explore additional information, or some combined approach. We want you to feel comfortable exploring the content in whatever manner suits you.
You will notice that TRIS availability for customized consultation following a school crisis is mentioned throughout the toolkit.
We want every school and every district in the state of Arkansas to know that, while this resource includes useful information, they never have to navigate the aftermath of a crisis alone. Instead, should a difficult event impact your school, you can reach out to the ADE Guidance and School Counseling Team to request a TRIS consult.
In subsequent sections of this toolkit, you will find general information about trauma, crisis management, time-based considerations, and select, high-quality resources. We start by discussing what is meant by the word
crisis and how that term refers to a wide array of situations.
In schools, the word crisis often refers to a natural disaster, an act of violence, or something else that immediately threatens the physical safety of a student or staff member. However, when using this toolkit, or when thinking of the consultative services available through TRIS, the word crisis can be thought of as any difficult event that affects your school or district. This might be a natural disaster, a suicide, an accident, heightened violence in the surrounding community, death, school-based violence, a serious illness or injury of someone within the school, or any other event that is particularly difficult for your school or district. Because of this, the terms difficult event and crisis are used interchangeably in this resource.
The word trauma also means different things to different people; but experts commonly talk about three key factors when discussing a trauma: the event itself, the experiences of an individual during and after the event, and the effects that follow.
Trauma and Crises
The Event
This is the specific difficult incident, situation, or crisis (as described above). Throughout this toolkit when we say difficult event, this is what is meant.
The Experience
The thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations an individual has during and immediately after an event is their experience of the event.
The Effect
The effect refers to the lasting impact of the event and the person’s experience of the event. The effect of an event can, and often does, vary widely.
Different people experience events in different ways. At times, the immediate response to an event helps to shape a person’s experience of the event. This is why we recommend a trauma-informed approach when responding to a difficult event.
A trauma-informed approach emphasizes safety, trust, sensitivity, support, collaborative relationships, and understanding the potential wide-ranging impact of a difficult event (i.e., the effect). If a difficult event affects your school, some students and staff members may adjust very well, while others may need more intensive, individualized support services.
Resilience is the ability to adapt and recover in the face of adversity and difficult events. While most individuals naturally demonstrate resilience, it is also a skill that can be nurtured through supportive relationships, coping strategies, and a sense of control over one’s environment. In the context of trauma, resilience does not mean avoiding distress but rather learning to process emotions, find meaning in experiences, and regain a sense of safety and empowerment. A trauma-informed approach to managing a difficult event includes steps we can take to nurture resilience.
Trauma-Informed Management
of Your School or District Response to a Difficult Event
A trauma-informed response to a difficult event is essential because it promotes coping and adjustment, fosters resilience, and helps you identify and facilitate additional supports for those in need. This type of response appreciates that crises are experienced differently by individuals and that many factors—including factors beyond our control—contribute to the effect a difficult event can have on a person. Use of a trauma-informed approach requires you to consider how the event impacts students and staff—both as a whole and as individuals. When you use this type of approach, you recognize that changes in a person’s behavior, emotions, interactions, or academic functioning could be related to the difficult event. When you notice these changes, consider them within the context of the difficult event. These changes may indicate that someone needs additional, individualized support services.
While your first step always is to ensure physical safety, you also should address any immediate emotional needs promptly. Remember that children and teens will have different emotional experiences. Misbehavior, change in behavior, or change in academic performance following a crisis may indicate a student is having difficulty managing their feelings related to the difficult event.
Prioritize Physical and Emotional Safety
Maintain routines as much as possible. It can be difficult to maintain routines after a difficult event, but it is important to avoid altering schedules and routines when possible. Consistency often helps students and staff feel safe and secure. Also, consistency and predictability contribute to trusting relationships among staff, students, and family members.
Be Consistent and Predictable
Be open and honest with students, staff, and families about what is happening (or has happened) and what will happen next. Open communication promotes trust. This guide contains helpful tips and scripts about communicating with students, staff, and families.
Be Truthful and Transparent
When a difficult event occurs, people often feel a loss of control. Allowing them to make simple choices—like where to sit, when they take a break, or how they express feelings—can help them feel more in control and empowered. Remember, both students and staff are likely to benefit from opportunities to make individual choices.
Allow Individual Choices
Use active listening and acknowledge expressed or observed emotions without adding judgments, offering solutions, minimizing, or being dismissing. Try to listen to understand as you validate feelings. Remind students, staff, and yourself that it is okay for someone to feel whatever they feel. Validating feelings helps individuals feel supported, connected, and like they (and their feelings) matter. As a result, it can help reduce feelings of isolation. However, it is important to note that while some students benefit from talking about the event repeatedly, repetitively hearing about an event may be distressing to others. Redirect conversations to counselors as needed.
Validate Feelings
It can be difficult for students and staff to feel calm and regulated following a difficult event. Yet, we know that modeling calmness following a difficult event helps people regulate and feel more in control. Staff are encouraged to try to model calmness. They can also verbalize self-regulation strategies they use. For example, “I can feel my heart beating quickly, so I am going to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.” “My mind knows we are safe; I need my body to feel that safe, calm feeling. This is how I do that.”
Co-Regulate and Model Calmness
Students also can be directly taught strategies to help them manage their emotional reactions. For example, you might consider explicit teaching of deep breathing or mindfulness exercises. Check out the UAMS AR ConnectNow Build Skills for Mental Health page for a variety of strategies that promote coping, help with regulation, build resilience, and foster strong mental health.
Teach and Promote Coping Skills
Recognize the strength and resilience of your school community. It is okay, and even advisable, to point out strengths and past successes. You can notice strengths and positives without diminishing the difficult circumstances surrounding you. It is appropriate to highlight resilience when you see it as this helps build resilience.
Recognize Strengths
Students should feel nurtured by the adults both within and outside of their school environment, particularly in the context of a difficult event. Foster relationships with families, outside helpers (e.g., counselors), and other community members to reinforce social connections and support.
Connection and Relationships
Avoid making assumptions about how someone experiences the difficult event and about the impact the crisis has on them. Several factors contribute to our experiences and the impact of a crisis. When you are sensitive to these differences, it helps you ensure your approach does not add to distress.
Consider Differences
You are a member of your school and district communities. Because of this, if a difficult event affects your school or district, we encourage you to think about how the event impacts you and to take steps to take care of yourself. Remember, you do not have to do this alone. TRIS is available to walk alongside you if a difficult event impacts your school community.
Take Care of Yourself
Following a difficult event, you might recognize the need for more of your staff to be trained in trauma-informed practices. Or perhaps you are reading through this toolkit and think that you would like to explore trauma-informed trainings for you and your staff before a difficult event occurs. In either instance, we encourage you to check out the current training opportunities provided by TRIS. You also can reach out directly to the TRIS team to discuss your training needs. Building on these general principles, school leaders can take specific actions in response to a difficult event. These steps are described in the next section.
To learn more about the impact of trauma on students, explore NCTSN Trauma Facts for Educators
For More Information