Micere Keels: Trauma-Responsive Educational Practices: CPS-TREP Project Collaborative
The CPS TREP Project is a collaboration between the Chicago Public School District, University of Chicago researchers, and the Consortium on Chicago School Research. Although many urban schools and school districts are moving toward trauma responsive educational practices, schools have only recently begun implementing systematic interventions, and researchers are only beginning to formally evaluate their effectiveness. The overarching goal of this proposed project is to build a research-practice collaboration that will focus on examining the process of engendering whole-school transformation regarding improving educator understanding of how neighborhood violence and disorganization affects children’s functioning, and then responding with developmentally appropriate trauma responsive educational practices. To build the capacity of educators and schools to meet the socioemotional and academic needs of children coping with trauma we have been developing the Educator’s Core Curriculum on Trauma, which is an evidence-based trauma training for educators. We will examine the extent to which participating educators show increases in a trauma focused understating of student behavior and knowledge of evidence-based educational strategies, the extent to which knowledge translates into changes in classroom practices, and ultimately improvements in students’ educational outcomes. This project will randomly assign 24 schools into 1 of 3 comparison conditions: professional development only, professional development plus a learning community, and business as usual. Data will be used for two purposes: 1) Interim analysis will provide feedback to guide implementation; and 2) summative analysis of data will provide estimates of the impact of the intervention on teaching practices, school climate, and student outcomes.
