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Home Blogs Supporting Students Experiencing Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic
For many students, the COVID-19 pandemic is compounding traumatic experiences for diverse reasons, such as potential increased incidents of neglect, abuse, and isolation. At the same time, educators are limited in how they can support their students while school are closed. In the Appalachia region, this new wave of stressors comes on top of the traumatic experiences students are experiencing related to the opioid epidemic. Family and community opioid use has devastating impacts on children and families, especially in this region, with about 170,000 children experiencing a range of stressors and trauma related to parental opioid use, such as losing a parent to an opioid-related death, having an incarcerated parent due to opioid use, or being removed from their home due to an opioid-related issue.1 REL Appalachia (REL AP) has been working with key stakeholders from the region in state and local education agencies, departments of health, community-based organizations, and universities to identify best practices for addressing student- and educator-related trauma through the Cross-State Collaborative to Support Schools in the Opioid Crisis (CCSSOC). Through this work, the collaborative developed and curated tools and strategies all educators may find useful when supporting students during this time.
In response to education stakeholders’ high-priority needs, the REL AP team and CCSSOC members co-developed the "Common trauma symptoms in students and helpful strategies for educators" handout.
The handout provides information about the common symptoms of trauma, grouped into five main categories,2 as well as everyday strategies3 that educators can implement in the classroom to support students exhibiting symptoms of trauma.
Everyday strategies in virtual settings
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted strategies from the handout to help educators address student’s social-emotional and mental health needs associated with trauma in virtual settings:
District and school administrators may consider implementing school-based programs to address student trauma once students return to school in the fall. The REL AP team and CCSSOC members co-developed two relevant resources to help school and district leaders address the likely overwhelming need for evidence-based or promising interventions that align with their specific needs and contexts:
These materials provide preventative and intervention strategies for supporting students affected by trauma. For suggestions on how to use the materials, refer to the relevant sections of this blog post.
Footnotes:
1Brundage, S. C., Fifield, A., & Partridge, L. (2019). The ripple effect: National and state estimates of the U.S. opioid epidemic’s impact on children. United Hospital Fund. https://uhfnyc.org/media/filer_public/6e/80/6e80760f-d579-46a3-998d-1aa816ab06f6/uhf_ripple_effect_national_and_state_estimates_chartbook.pdf
2Symptoms adapted from:
3 Strategies adapted from:
Author(s)
Yunsoo Park
Jennifer Nakamura
Jenna Rush
Shai Fuxman
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