Trauma-Informed Schools (Mental Health Intervention)

School Profile

Public school Carlos E. Haile Middle School is situated in a sizable suburban area of Bradenton, Florida. Carlos E. Haile Middle School has 784 students and serves grades 6 through 8. 72% of learners at Carlos E. Haile Middle School achieved math proficiency or greater than the required standard, and 61% achieved reading proficiency at or over the level needed to be proficient. 38% of the school’s students are minorities (U.S. News & World Report, 2023). White students make up 62% of the student body, followed by Latino students (21%), African Americans (5.7%), and Asians (3.7%). The number of pupils per teacher is 20, and this is higher than the district average. Male learners are about 49% of their student body. On the other hand, female learners area out 51%. 41% of the children in the school are from economically challenged backgrounds. Along with three full-time counselors at school, there are 39 equal full-time teachers. Stressors in Bradenton include a lack of social and financial support for students, some chronic illnesses, parents lacking employment, and bullying. Some of the acute traumatic events in Bradenton include vehicle accidents, domestic violence, physical and sexual assaults, and some physical injuries.

Form of Trauma

Trauma following a motor accident is an actual and dangerous condition. The most typical manifestations include a TBI, PTSD, mental health issues, emotional turmoil, or a coping problem (Malarbi et al., 2020). It is a reaction to the upsetting and upsetting nature of a car accident on the part of the collision victim. A victim of an injury thus frequently experiences a loss of oversight, feeling powerless, agony, and bewilderment as well as a loss of their sense of self-worth and an incapacity to cope.  Students may have both short- and long-term repercussions from trauma following an automobile accident. Injuries to the body are short-term repercussions. Long-term effects on the kids could include an elevated level of indicators of post-traumatic stress disorder, especially avoidance. Travel anxiety, depression, and severe anxiety symptoms may also be present. Following an accident, this frequently manifests, gradually becoming more upsetting. Other visible effects include nightmares along with additional sleep issues, anxiety relating to accidents, impatience, aggression, and emotionally regressive conduct.

Guidance for School Personnel on Warning Signs

Children who are traumatized by a car accident (or whose parents have been fatally injured or seriously hurt in a car accident) may display certain obvious indicators that they are struggling. Look for warning indicators, from Carlos E. Haile Middle School staff members. For kids between the ages of 6 and 11, parents should watch out for disruptiveness, intense withdrawal symptoms, difficulties concentrating, nightmares and/or trouble falling asleep, issues in school, unexplained medical complaints including pain in the stomach or headaches, aggression, appetite changes, and excessive sobbing. The Screening Tool for Early Predictors of PTSD (STEPP) is a diagnostic instrument that may help in assessment (Malarbi et al., 2020). The broader survey that gave rise to the questions that make up STEPP covered several important based on evidence and conceptual areas related to the emergence of PTSD in kids as well as parents.  The CTSQ is an additional resource that can be exploited. This 10-item self-report assessment can be used to help identify young people who are at chance of experiencing PTSD.

Guidance for School Personnel to Ensure School Climate is Supportive

Carlos E. Haile Middle School personnel must keep the entire school community, which includes pupils as well as staff, safe while guaranteeing every kid gets included, accepted, and handled fairly if they are to provide a learning environment that is accommodating of those who experience trauma. Additionally, they ought to continually use strategies that are supported by research for building environments for learning that are essential to the success of all pupils (Luthar & Mendes, 2020). The institution can enforce clear classroom rules while utilizing words that encourage non-threatening, encouraging remarks about consequences for helping a learner who is going through trauma. In addition, they can foresee modifications to the environment that can cause a pupil to feel uncomfortable and develop solutions with them. Individual trauma counseling is a school-based solution I would recommend. The educational outcomes are improved, post-traumatic stress is reduced, general mental health is improved, robust recovery is increased, and this intervention is specifically suited to the particular requirements of the participating students.

References

Luthar, S. S., & Mendes, S. H. (2020). Trauma-informed schools: Supporting educators as they support the children. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 8(2), 147-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2020.1721385

Malarbi, S. T., Muscara, F., Barnett, P. L., Palmer, C. S., & Stargatt, R. (2020). Post-traumatic stress symptoms and cognition in children exposed to motor vehicle accident trauma. Child Neuropsychology, 26(4), 560-575. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2019.1700223

U.S. News & World Report. (2023). Carlos E. Haile Middle School. https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/florida/carlos-e-haile-middle-school-261088