4 thoughts on “Problem Memo: Trauma Informed Approach in Schools”
Hi Caroline!
As someone who works with children, I found your problem memo very intriguing. My school actually has “emotionally responsive practice” as part of our mission statement, so I found it great that you chose to address trauma-informed care in the NYC DOE system. In particular, I found the statistics and background information provided in your memo to be very convincing. All statistics and background information are supported and cited with great sources.
To make the memo even clearer, it would be helpful to know where the NYC DOE system is currently in regards to the trauma-informed approach, or what is currently in place to address the emotional needs of the students. Furthermore, I would have found it helpful for the key term “trauma-informed approach” to be defined at the beginning of the memo.
Caroline, Thank you for writing your problem memo on this topic. It is something that I had very little knowledge on and am now curious and ready to read more!
You made many points that contributed to expressing the seriousness of the problem of lack of trauma informed care in schools:
1) There are many events that happen in a child’s life that can easily cause trauma that many people may not realize can cause trauma (for example: parents’ divorce, mental illness in the household, etc.)
2) The shocking statistic that 64% of adults had at least one traumatic experience before the age of 18
3) The impacts trauma has on children such as developmental delays or lower IQs
4) Increased risk trauma victims have for mental health disorders
5) The “School-to-Prison pipeline”
These strong arguments and pieces of evidence surely moved me and were well organized.
Caroline,
Thank you for addressing such a pressing issue in your problem memo. I do agree with all of your points and some of the statistics really press how important it is to address this issue. In terms of New York City, I would love to know if there are any case studies within schools that may align more with a trauma informed approach and what the success/graduation rate of their students might be. There are so many unique school cultures in New York, some that focus on restorative justice, some that have larger classrooms, some with very small. I am also curious if there are any DOE statistics regarding student success with trauma sensitivity.
Your memo is so well-written and succinct and, not to mention, incredibly eye-opening. As you elucidated, childhood trauma can manifest in victims through “life-long disorders” including anxiety, depression, and a variety of personality disorders. I feel such invisible disabilities as the ones you had enumerated in your memo are rarely addressed in the policy realm. This neglect seems to only be augmented by the broader societal stigma of mental illness. You make convincing and strong points regarding why we should all at least acknowledge the presence of childhood trauma and its detrimental effects on the brain and future life outcomes. Your use of statistics from reputable sources like the CDC reinforces the urgency for the need to both address and mitigate the issue. Finally, your ability to extrapolate the conflict between mental illness and education to the spheres of the criminal justice system is super impressive!!
Hi Caroline!
As someone who works with children, I found your problem memo very intriguing. My school actually has “emotionally responsive practice” as part of our mission statement, so I found it great that you chose to address trauma-informed care in the NYC DOE system. In particular, I found the statistics and background information provided in your memo to be very convincing. All statistics and background information are supported and cited with great sources.
To make the memo even clearer, it would be helpful to know where the NYC DOE system is currently in regards to the trauma-informed approach, or what is currently in place to address the emotional needs of the students. Furthermore, I would have found it helpful for the key term “trauma-informed approach” to be defined at the beginning of the memo.
Caroline, Thank you for writing your problem memo on this topic. It is something that I had very little knowledge on and am now curious and ready to read more!
You made many points that contributed to expressing the seriousness of the problem of lack of trauma informed care in schools:
1) There are many events that happen in a child’s life that can easily cause trauma that many people may not realize can cause trauma (for example: parents’ divorce, mental illness in the household, etc.)
2) The shocking statistic that 64% of adults had at least one traumatic experience before the age of 18
3) The impacts trauma has on children such as developmental delays or lower IQs
4) Increased risk trauma victims have for mental health disorders
5) The “School-to-Prison pipeline”
These strong arguments and pieces of evidence surely moved me and were well organized.
Caroline,
Thank you for addressing such a pressing issue in your problem memo. I do agree with all of your points and some of the statistics really press how important it is to address this issue. In terms of New York City, I would love to know if there are any case studies within schools that may align more with a trauma informed approach and what the success/graduation rate of their students might be. There are so many unique school cultures in New York, some that focus on restorative justice, some that have larger classrooms, some with very small. I am also curious if there are any DOE statistics regarding student success with trauma sensitivity.
I also came across a few interesting articles:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-ellen-stevens/trauma-sensitive-schools_b_1625924.html
And New York State’s guide for trauma sensitivity:
http://nysteachs.org/info-topic/schoolsuccess.html
Caroline! This is awesome!
Your memo is so well-written and succinct and, not to mention, incredibly eye-opening. As you elucidated, childhood trauma can manifest in victims through “life-long disorders” including anxiety, depression, and a variety of personality disorders. I feel such invisible disabilities as the ones you had enumerated in your memo are rarely addressed in the policy realm. This neglect seems to only be augmented by the broader societal stigma of mental illness. You make convincing and strong points regarding why we should all at least acknowledge the presence of childhood trauma and its detrimental effects on the brain and future life outcomes. Your use of statistics from reputable sources like the CDC reinforces the urgency for the need to both address and mitigate the issue. Finally, your ability to extrapolate the conflict between mental illness and education to the spheres of the criminal justice system is super impressive!!
Amazing job!