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Home REL Northwest About REL Northwest Alaska Trauma-Engaged Schools

Alaska Trauma-Engaged Schools

Nearly two-thirds of Alaskan students have experienced traumatic events, leading to increased risk of poor educational, social, health and economic outcomes. Recognizing the essential role of schools in mitigating the negative effects of trauma, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) developed the evidence-based Transforming Schools: A Framework for Trauma-Engaged Practice in Alaska that serves as a strategic plan for implementing systems, supports, and processes to improve health, safety, and learning outcomes for students.

As schools and districts across the state implement recommendations from the Transforming Schools Framework and accompanying toolkit, REL Northwest will support Alaska partners by:

  1. conducting applied research to understand implementation and inform decision-making,
  2. offering technical assistance to initiate continuous improvement processes to monitor progress, address challenges, and enhance culturally responsive adaptation to local contexts, and
  3. creating dissemination materials to support implementation of evidence-based practices.

Partnership Organizations: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (lead partner), Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Alaska Mental Health Trust, Association of Alaska School Boards, University of Alaska Anchorage


REL Northwest is conducting a research study to provide vital information to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED) and key partners about the implementation of trauma-engaged practices and policies by districts as well as the use of Alaska's suite of trauma-engaged resources. AK DEED, the Association of Alaska School Boards, and the Alaska Division of Public Health within the Department of Health and Social Services will use insights from the study to bolster the suite of trauma-engaged resources for districts.

How are districts implementing recommendations from the Transforming Schools: A Framework for Trauma-Engaged Practice in Alaska? REL Northwest assisted AK DEED in developing a statewide survey tool and administration plan to assess the implementation of the framework and the use of a suite of related resources. The technical support project bolstered AK DEED's capacity to carry out similar survey development and dissemination tasks in the future.

Event Type: Training Material | Event Date: September 15, 2023
As part of an ongoing project to implement trauma-engaged practices in schools, REL Northwest will meet with members from the Alaska Alternative Schools Coalition (AASC) and the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (AK DEED) to help...
Event Type: In-person Event | Event Date: September 13, 2023 - September 14, 2023
REL Northwest will join the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (AK DEED) at the Alaska School Safety & Well-Being Summit to present on trauma-engaged schools (TES) initiatives within the state. In this breakout session, REL Northwest...
Event Type: Webinar | Event Date: May 24, 2023
Join REL Northwest for a free, one-hour webinar on May 24 at noon Pacific to learn about developing and administering a large-scale statewide survey, actionable strategies used to achieve a high response rate, and valuable lessons learned along the way...
Product Type: Resource | Publication Date: May 2023
REL Northwest’s May 2023 webinar, aimed at state and district leaders and staff interested in developing and administering a large-scale survey, describes actionable strategies to achieve a high response rate and valuable lessons learned. Download our...
Product Type: Blog | Publication Date: May 01, 2023
Large-scale surveys can provide state and district education leaders with a deeper understanding of how recommendations are enacted and resources are used. However, survey data are only actionable if the survey asks the right questions and yields sufficient...
Product Type: Blog | Publication Date: September 30, 2022
Student mental health and well-being is far from a new concern. REL Northwest partners, as well as educators across the nation, have identified the issue of students experiencing trauma at home and its impact on learning as a pressing and growing need...
Event Type: Training Material | Event Date: July 27, 2022
REL Northwest, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and its partners focused on finalizing the implementation survey draft in alignment with steps four and five of questionnaire development (Harlacher, 2016) and the "Exploring...
Event Type: Training Material | Event Date: June 29, 2022
REL Northwest and partners focused on prioritizing survey topics by considering each chapter in Alaska's Transforming schools: A framework for trauma-engaged practice in Alaska (Association of Alaska School Boards & Alaska Department of Education...
Event Type: Training Material | Event Date: May 10, 2022
REL Northwest and partner agencies, organizations and associations engaged in rapport building, establishing working group norms and expectations, and developing a shared understanding of the goals of the trauma-engaged practices implementation survey...
Event Type: In-person Event | Event Date: March 02, 2022
REL Northwest, which partners with educators and policymakers in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, provided an overview of its mission and work and shared examples of projects underway with districts in Washington and the Northwest region...

REL Northwest Logic Model (92 KB)

REL Northwest Logic Model