Learn About Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois (RSSI)
About Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois
Resilience-Supportive Schools-Illinois (RSSI) is statewide effort that encompasses many types of work and uses data to help build student resilience through school-based supports. Schools can support resilience through policies in four areas: social and emotional learning, trauma-responsiveness and healing centeredness, mental health, cultural responsiveness, anti-racist and equitable practices.
It’s important to recognize that RSSI is about local choice. Districts and schools can choose to participate in RSSI and if they do, schools then identify which of the four pillars to pursue based on their local needs.Â
RSSI is designed to help school leaders reflect on their current policies, procedures and practices that contribute to resilience among students and staff. Schools are then able to make data-informed decisions around the social and emotional learning pathways to prioritize for their school. This Learning & Resource Hub supports Resilience-Supportive Schools in Illinois (RSSI) through access to free courses and resources to support this important work.
Accessing RSSI Data
Follow these steps if your school wants to access its data and assess success and opportunities for growth in the areas of social and emotional learning, trauma-responsiveness and healing centeredness, mental health, cultural responsiveness, anti-racist and equitable practices:
- Register on this Learning & Resource Hub.
- Email info@rss-illinois.net to request access to your school’s account.
- Allow 1-2 weeks for your RSSI account to be approved and created.
- Once approved, you’ll be notified and be provided directions to access the RSSI App.
- Click on the button to the left to be directed back to the RSSI App at any time after you’ve gained access.
Resilience-Supportive Schools-Illinois is led by a Collective of experts and practitioners, including the Center for Childhood Resilience at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, Partnership for Resilience, Stress and Trauma Treatment Center, Illinois State Board of Education and regional SEL Hubs. For more information, reach out to REACH@luriechildrens.org.Â
Working Hand-in-Hand
 The RSSI helps schools on their trauma-responsive journey by providing a framework of four pillars necessary to support this work:
Mental Health Supports​
Social and Emotional Learning
Anti-Racism and Equity​
Trauma Responsive and Healing Centered
The focus of the RSSI initiative and its RSSI App is data and tools to improve schools’ Trauma Responsive and Healing Centered, Social Emotional Learning, Mental Health and Cultural Responsiveness, Anti-Racism, and Equity (CARE) student support pillars.
After schools review their data they may choose to access support in creating action plans for whole-school improvement – and be connected to programs and resources to facilitate the implementation of their action plan in a sustainable way. The Roadmap approach is intentionally designed to deliver highly-customized plans pairing data insights with individual school cultures, assets, and needs. To find out more about RSSI, contact REACH@luriechildrens.org
Learn more about Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois "Pillars," or areas of focus.
Trauma-Responsive and Healing-Centered
A trauma-responsive school is one where all students feel safe and supported, and where the school’s educational mission recognizes, understands, and focuses on addressing the impact of trauma on learning.
Social and Emotional Learning
A school providing social emotional learning support is one that focuses on every student’s emotional well-being in addition to academic and extracurricular pursuits.
Mental Health Supports
A school providing mental health support provides services and interventions to strengthen every student’s mental health.
Culturally Responsive, Anti-Racist & Equitable
A school that includes students’, families’ and educators’ cultures in all aspects of the school environment, including supports and services that promote well-being and mental health, and ensure that students are not denied opportunities or treated differently because of their culture or race.
