In this foundation-setting course, participants will be walked, step-by-step, through the 10 steps to create a trauma-informed, resilience-focused school.

Presented by Dr. Caelan Soma, the course content focuses on resilience and an emphasis on understanding how trauma impacts children and their school experience. It provides proactive strategies such as fostering connections, prioritizing social and emotional skills, establishing safety, and promoting play. Detailed information and concrete actions are also covered, and in a way that doesn’t just answer the “why” but also the “how” to create the best classroom and school supports for traumatized students and the school professionals who serve them. Later in the course, a strong focus on understanding the link between a student’s private logic and their academic achievement and behavior deficits in the Circle of Courage’s universal needs is addressed, as well as how to assess students and create behavior support plans for each. Strategies to collaborate with families and communities and to support staff will be presented also, as well as examples of how to collect and utilize outcome data.

This course will be most beneficial for K-12 educators, administrators, and others who work in education.

10 Steps to a Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Focused School is offered in partnership with Starr Commonwealth, a global leader in trauma-informed care. Starr's mission is to lead with courage to create positive experiences so that all children, families, and communities flourish.

Learning Objectives:

After participants have completed this course, they will be able to:

1. Identify at least three questions to ask to promote a trauma-informed and resilience-focused mindset when working with students in the school setting.
2. Name the four main protective factors of resilient youth.
3. Describe how trauma impacts the deep and outer brain functions, specifically in the school setting.
4. Recall at least five proactive strategies for every classroom.
5. Express the concept of private logic and provide at least two examples of how private logic impacts behavior in the school setting.
6. Recognize at least three ways your school can collaborate with caregivers, family, and community.
7. Recount the importance of self-care for educators and other school professionals.
8. Report at least three evaluation strategies to use to determine your school’s level of trauma-informed and resilience-focused practices.

Training Format

The training will consist of 10 parts, delivered in an online, self-paced format.

1. Focus on Resilience
2. Understand Trauma as an Experience
3. Foster Connections
4. Prioritize Social-Emotional Skill Development
5. Establish Safety
6. Promote Play
7. Believe the Link Between Private Logic and Behavior
8. Collaborate with Families and Communities
9. Support and Invest in Staff
10. Collect and Utilize Outcome Data

Course Length and Access

This course takes approximately 12 hours to complete. We encourage you to take your time with it, completing it at whatever pace works best for you and your self-care needs. We strongly encourage participants to watch all of the recommended videos, read all of the provided and recommended resources, and complete all of the provided activities – as this will help to ensure a trauma-informed, resilience-focused foundation is set for your future growth and the betterment of the students you serve. You will have access to this course for 1-year (365 days).

Continuing Education Credits

This course counts for 12.0 Social Work Continuing Education Credits, 12.0 State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs for Educators), and/or 12.0 CEUs. Once you have viewed all of the course content, you must pass a post-test with a score of 80% or higher to receive a continuing education certificate. Upon successful completion of the course and post-test, your continuing education certificate will be made available to download/print within Blackboard (our online course system).

This course discusses and shows images and video that contain sensitive material. As you are watching please take care of yourself. If any of the content is activating please take a break from viewing the material and if you need additional support please reach out to a friend or family member.

Please note that you will receive access to the course about 2 hours after completing your registration. Your login instructions and credentials will be emailed to you shortly after registering for the course. This is done manually by one of our team members, but if you need quicker access, please visit: www.gvsu.edu/learn/login

Upon registering for the course, the learner has 365 days to complete all course materials and access their certificate. If the course is incomplete after 365 days, the learner’s access to the course will be removed. Our courses provide current material, and we strive to update our course offerings regularly. Due to this, the learner is encouraged to complete their course within one calendar year.

CANCELLATIONS:

• Participants may cancel their registration at any time by calling our office at 616-331-7180 or emailing learn@gvsu.edu. Participants seeking a refund must cancel their registration within 30 days of purchase and must not have already accessed the course content. You may either receive a full refund back on your card, or we can place a credit on your account for a future program.