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Leading the w ay : Trauma- informed educators and alternatives to suspension

Leading the w ay : Trauma- informed educators and alternatives to suspension. American Council of School Social Workers Conference New Orleans, LA January 26, 2015. Presentation Objectives.

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Leading the w ay : Trauma- informed educators and alternatives to suspension

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  1. Leading the way: Trauma-informededucators and alternatives to suspension American Council of School Social Workers Conference New Orleans, LA January 26, 2015

  2. Presentation Objectives • Participants will gain knowledge on how trauma manifests itself in the classroom setting & how education professionals have historically addressed problematic behavior • Participants will know the components of the alternative intervention & strategies staff can implement to decrease time off task • Participants will be exposed to strategies they could use to be leaders in moving this process to other schools & how to influence current school leaders

  3. Impact of Trauma on Educational Well-Being • History of trauma can manifest itself in the classroom: • Internalized and externalized behaviors • Inability to self regulate • Inappropriate boundaries • Inability to cognitively process information • Inattentiveness • Need for constant redirection • Need to move • Unexpected reactions to triggers

  4. Impact of Trauma on Educational Well-Being • Court-involved students are/have: • Less likely to do their homework • Lower scores on standardized achievement tests • More than twice as likely to fail a grade • Assigned to special education services with greater frequency • Higher discipline referral rates, suspensions, and expulsions • Lower GPAs • Higher school absences • Lower high school graduation rates • Lower IQs • Lower self-esteem

  5. Background on Suspension/Expulsion • OSS most commonly recognized method of addressing conduct infractions in middle and high schools across the country • In 2006 over 3 ¼ million students suspended annually across this country – with over 100,000 of these in Michigan • 7% of the entire school population missing at least 1 school day/year due to suspension/expulsion – a figure that has doubled since the 1970s • Actual % are higher as in school suspension statistics are not tabulated nationally

  6. ZeroTolerancePolicies • State Board of Education Model Code of Student Conduct (2014) • EX) fighting, gambling or defacing school property (10 days OSS) • Ex) gambling, drugs and weapons as well as a variety of criminal activities (Expulsion) • Virtually any inappropriate behavior can result in time away from the school environment and academics • Disproportionately impacts students of color, special education, and court-involved students

  7. UnintendedConsequences of ZeroTolerancePolicies • Exclusionary discipline policies conflict with current best knowledge about adolescent development • Lost valuable continuity in mastering the curriculum • Multiple OSS leads to high absenteeism • missing work during period OSS translates to lower grades • negative correlation between OSS rates and achievement scores on math, reading and writing • OSS linked to increased high school drop-out rates • Putting students in unsupervised and unstructured situations led to further problems • School exclusion detrimentally effects all around social adjustment

  8. Causes of over-using OSS/Expulsions • institutional bias, • school culture, • teacher training, and • adult perceptions • To address these causes, CBF administration made the decision to implement the Monarch room as an alternative to OSS/expulsion

  9. Case for court-involved students • OSS use linked to negative psychosocial functioning, and development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and aggressive behavior in and outside of school • OSS promote feelings of inadequacy, hopelessness , suppressed negative emotions, poor self-image, social rejection, resistance to building relationships, increased risk substance abuse, suicidal ideations • School may be the only stable and predictable institution in a child’s life • Troubled students need to find support in the school before they resort to inappropriate behaviors & find themselves in OSS/Expelled • When students feel engaged at school and feel a sense of connectedness, rates of school violence decrease and school safety increases

  10. Getting Started: Assessing School Readiness for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Alternative to Suspension Why? • Personal philosophy • Mental health as Social Worker, clinical and School • Schools dual service delivery systems • Traditional discipline does not work in long run • Power and control short-term benefits • Displayed behaviors often misinterpreted • Need to teach life skills • Increase academic achievement-need to be in school • Enhance collaboration: agencies with education • Ideal setting-Vista Maria’s campus

  11. Monarch Room Description • Separate room • Facilitated by trauma-informed professionals • Available all day • Incorporates Sensory motor technologies • Short-term: Goal is to return to class in 10 minutes • Not seen as punitive by staff or students • Extensive data is collected

  12. Methods • Sample • 620 Girls enrolled at CBF btw Sept. 2011 and June 2014 (MS population not included) • 86% residents @ VM, 14% CS • Ages 14-18 • Race: AA (70%) W (24%) H (3%) AI (1%) • First stay at VM: 57%; 43% experienced multiple stays • Average time per stay: 133 days

  13. Methods • Secondary data analysis of data analyzed from: • Monarch room tracking logs (frequency of monarch room use, OSS) & matched with • Administrative data from PowerSchool (entry and exit dates, grade level, race, # absences)

  14. Research Questions • Do racial disparities exist in Monarch room use? • Does frequent school mobility (multiple entries in and out of the school) predict monarch room use? • Did the intervention reduce the number of suspension/ expulsions given?

  15. Results

  16. Results

  17. Results Table 3: Demographic Characteristics of the Sample by History of Suspensions/Expulsions (N=620) * African American

  18. Results Table 4: Predictors of Monarch Room Use (N=620) • (Cox & Snell) .17, (Nagelkerke) .23, Model X2 (3) = 134.16, p<.001. *p<.05, ***p<.001

  19. Results Table 5: Predictors of Suspension/Expulsion (N=620) • Cox & Snell) .10, (Nagelkerke) .31, Model X2 (4) = 76.12, p<.001. **p<.01, ***p<.001

  20. Discussion • Monarch room has been demonstrated to be a successful alternative to suspension/expulsion • It has been implementedsuccessfullydespite the factthat the population of girls at CBF has become more challenging over time

  21. Leadership, Replication of the Model & Implications for Policy & Practice • Policies, procedures, and protocols • Discipline policy of the school and standards of behavior • Communication • Professional development • Liaison btw school administrators & mental health professionals • Coaches for staff and administrators • Data driven decision-making

  22. Today’s Presenters • Beverly A. Baroni, Ph.D., LMSW Principal, Clara B. Ford Academy beverly-baroni@cbfacademy.com • Angelique Day, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Wayne State University, school of Social Work ew6080@wayne.edu

  23. Publications • West, S.D., Day, A.G., Somers, C.L., & Baroni, B.A. (2014). Student Perspectives on how Trauma Experiences Manifest in the Classroom: Engaging Court-Involved Youth in the Development of a Trauma-Informed Teaching Curriculum. Children and Youth Services Review, 38. 58-65. • Crosby, S.D., Day, A.G., Baroni, B.A., & Somers, C.L. (In Press). School Staff Perspectives on the Challenges and Solutions to Working with Court-Involved Students. Journal of School Health. • Day, A.G., Somers, C. L., Baroni, B.A., West, S.D., Sanders, L., & Peterson, C.D. (In Press). Evaluation of a Trauma-Informed School Intervention with Girls in a Residential Facility School: Student Perceptions of School Environment. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.

  24. Publications • Baroni, B.A., Day, A.G., Somers, C.L., Crosby, S., & Pennefather, M. (Under Review). The Adoption of the Monarch Room as an Alternative to Suspension and Expulsion in Addressing School Discipline Issues Among Court-Involved Youth. • Crosby, S., Somers, C., Day, A., & Baroni, B. (Under Review). Working with traumatized students: Measures to assess school staff perceptions, awareness, and instructional responses. • Weber, N. M., Somers, C. L., Day, A., & Baroni, B. A.  (Under Review). Predictors and outcomes of school attachment and school involvement in a sample of girls in residential treatment.  

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