Under the direction of Dr. Laurel Bear, two AUSD schools are moving towards becoming trauma informed campuses from a teaching perspective. Essentially, the schools are supporting students by getting to know them on a deeper level and understand some of the barriers that may have prevented them from achieving their highest level of success. Instead of focusing on the behavior, the focus is on the cause of the behavior and addressing those needs. Research shows that an estimated two in three children are exposed to traumatic experiences. These experiences can impair our student’s ability to learn and engage in school. Being a trauma informed school means that Century and Independence High Schools will not only identify and address the implications of trauma exposure, but also focus on social, emotional learning by providing a safe, stable and positive learning environment for students. The hope is that the support given to parents and students will have positive effects and greater academic outcomes. Academic success is maximized with increased understanding of mental health and wellness.
Both Century and Independence High School teachers are receiving staff development and training on social emotional learning as an integrated part of their staff meetings/collaboration and will continue to do so year round. In an effort to strengthen the school-family partnership, Century/Independence High School staff and Pacific Clinics have joined together to develop a series of Parent Workshops. There will be a total of 7 parent workshops held throughout the 2016/2017 school year. The first workshop title, Social Emotional Learning, was held on September 20, 2016. It was tremendously helpful in building a strong school-family partnership that will extend beyond the schools grounds.
The Alhambra Unified School District strives to provide a safe, healthy and respectful learning environment. The mission of the Alhambra Unified School District Gateway To Success program is to help each student reach his or her educational potential, by addressing the student’s social-emotional, behavioral, and overall well-being. Trauma Informed schools meet all district goals and addresses the academic and social emotional needs of students to increase student success.