Trauma-Informed Approaches to Improve School Safety, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2016-2020 (ICPSR 38505)

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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a multi-component strategy for the installation of trauma-informed approaches in urban schools serving low-income, mostly Black youth marginalized due to intersecting discriminatory and oppressive economic, education, policing, and housing policies and practices. The strategies included professional development in trauma and trauma-informed approaches, on-site coaching in the application of trauma-informed approaches in the classroom, and technical assistance for school leadership related to the system-wide adoption of trauma-informed approaches. The overall goal of the study was to determine whether the multi-component strategy increased the capacity of the schools to adopt and implement trauma-informed approaches and ultimately improve school safety. The specific objectives included:

• Aim 1: Apply a rigorous experimental design to evaluate the implementation strategy in six schools. Implementation strategy components included a) an initial two-day professional development workshop for all school staff on the core concepts of trauma, traumatic stress responses, and specific trauma-informed strategies for student engagement; b) intensive training and coaching of teachers to increase their capacity to use trauma-informed skills and strategies; and c) ongoing technical support provided to school leadership teams to develop capacity to engage in data-based decision making for the system-wide adoption of trauma-informed approaches.
• Aim 2: Determine whether the intervention created consensus and capacity for trauma-informed approaches, as indicated by increases in teacher a) understanding of trauma-informed approaches; b) attitudes toward trauma-informed approaches; c) use of explicit trauma-informed strategies for student engagement and classroom management; d) perceptions of system-level support for the intervention; and e) perceptions of organizational capacity to implement trauma-informed approaches.
• Aim 3: Determine whether the intervention impacted school safety, as indicated by a) reductions in student aggression, victimization, and suspensions; and b) increases in perceptions of school safety and school climate.

Study Design View help for Study Design

The project focused on the installation stage of the Safe Schools NOLA intervention model of trauma-informed approaches. Thus, the intervention focused on developing and evaluating tools, trainings, and systems of support necessary to build individual and organizational competencies and support infrastructure in kindergarten through eighth grade schools to integrate trauma-informed approaches into their multitiered systems of student support. The intervention was carried out through three core elements: use of teams to lead implementation efforts; data-based decision making; and capacity building to support systems change.

The project was a university-school collaboration. The external project implementation team consisted of social workers who served as teacher support specialist embedded in the school four days a week to support teacher training and consultation, a school support specialist to support system-level change, and the project director to provide overall guidance in the implementation process. The internal school leadership team typically consisted of the school principal(s) and assistant principals, the dean of students, special education and response to intervention coordinators, the school mental health service provider, and a small group of teachers identified by the school.

Educator capacity building efforts focused on training and support to create a common understanding of trauma and the framework for trauma-informed schools. In addition, skill-building professional development sessions supported by coaching and consultation allowed teachers and school leaders to understand how trauma-informed practices aligned with existing practices and what additional resources might be needed to implement the practices effectively over time. Skill-building sessions focused on three skill areas to promote the principles of trust and safety at the center of trauma-informed frameworks. The skill areas included 1) establishing safe and supportive classroom environments that prioritize routines for community building and student empowerment through emotional expression and regulation; 2) enhancing teacher emotional regulation skills as a driver of supportive teacher-student relationships; and 3) fostering connected relationships between students and teachers. Following each training, teacher consultation and coaching was provided to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of the training and teachers' use of specific skills in their classrooms. Coaching and consultation was supported by a classroom observation tool aligned to the training content that monitored developing competencies in creating safe and supportive classrooms, teacher and student emotional regulation, and teacher-student relationships.

Organizational capacity was built through technical assistance for needs assessment and data-based decision making to help identify necessary infrastructure elements (e.g., policies, procedures, staffing resources) to support an action plan for the initial implementation of trauma-informed approaches. Each school's action plan was individualized to allow for an integration of trauma-informed approaches within the school culture, taking into consideration their unique needs, priorities, and resources. Following the active intervention year, schools took on and sustained implementation internally, though they continued to have access to the study team for consultation purposes.

The measurement plan included data collection approximately quarterly across the four project years, which included a baseline year in which no schools were implementing the intervention. The study used a planned missingness design, in which participants were randomly assigned to complete surveys and/or classroom observations during two out of the four possible data collection periods each year. Students in grades third through eighth completed paper surveys in small groups. Educators completed surveys via Qualtrics. Classroom observations were 20 minutes long, occurred during academic time, and were completed by trained study team members. Exceptions to the quarterly data collection schedule include the following a) demographics were collected from educators using a Qualtrics survey upon their first entry into the study and from students annually via school rosters; b) implementation data were collected using educator-completed paper surveys and other process indicators gathered by the study team during the intervention year for intervention schools only; c) Aim 2 outcomes relevant to understanding of trauma-informed approaches (knowledge), perceptions of system-level support for the intervention (system support), and perceptions of organizational capacity to implement trauma-informed approaches (system climate) were gathered using educator-completed paper surveys one time per year for intervention schools only; and d) archival suspension data were reported at the school level on an annual basis and included three additional baseline years.

Sample View help for Sample

Project schools were located in New Orleans, LA, which is a portfolio school district comprised entirely of autonomous charter schools. Six K-8 schools within the two largest charter management organizations (CMO) were originally recruited to the project. The CMOs collectively served over 5,800 students and had schools located across the city, in an attempt to capture a study sample which was representative of the city. Schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention during project years two, three, and four, after completing at least one baseline year during project year one. The project began baseline data collection in 2016-17 and active implementation in 2017-18; the project ended in 2019-20. One school (school A5) was randomized to receive the intervention in year two, but this did not occur because the school learned that its charter would not be renewed the following year. The decision was made to exclude School A5 from analyses.

The project participants included urban K-8 students who attended one of the study schools, as well as their teachers and other school staff. Students were recruited to the study annually to meet the recruitment target of 40 students per grade per school. Once students were recruited to the study, they remained in the study unless they graduated eighth grade, moved to a new school, or revoked consent/assent. The only inclusion criterion for students was the ability to communicate in English. A total of 2,127 students were active in the study in project year one; 1,920 were active in project year two, 2,089 in project year three, and 1768 in project year four. The majority of students were identified as Black or African American (91 percent). Seven percent of students were identified as Hispanic, representing the growing Hispanic population in our geographical area. About half (49 percent) of the students were identified as male. Teachers and school staff were also recruited to the study annually with the goal of enrolling as many participants from the school as were interested. Once teachers and school staff were recruited to the study, they remained in the study unless they left the school or revoked consent. A total of 462 teachers and other school staff were enrolled in the study and completed self-report measures. A total of 325 classroom teachers participated in classroom observations. About half of the educators identified as Black or African American (48 percent) or White (47 percent). Six percent identified as Hispanic. About 75 percent of the educators identified as female.

Time Method View help for Time Method

Universe View help for Universe

Kindergarten through eighth grade students, as well as teachers and staff, in New Orleans, Louisiana from 2016 to 2020.

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Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2025-07-28