Trauma Responsive

Attendance Works

July 28, 2025

As a nonprofit initiative, Attendance Works partners with schools, districts, states, communities and organizations to ensure that chronic absence is recognized as a serious issue that can be addressed through proactive, supportive strategies. Their website offers resources for monitoring, understanding, and addressing chronic absence beginning in the early grades through secondary school. These strategies can be implemented at the school, district, and state level. You can find resources to help develop:

Positive Engagement with families and students
Actionable Data to help you identify students with too many absences
Capacity Building to help build a culture of attendance in your classroom, school or district.
Find toolkits under Capacity Building.

All tools can be downloaded and used without express permission from Attendance Works.

Attendance Works Read More »

Children’s Adversity Index – Illinois

July 28, 2025

The Children’s Adversity Index measures community-level adversity in order to estimate exposure to potential sources of childhood trauma. The index offers a clearer view of the challenges facing communities across Illinois. Although calculated at the district level to meet the statutory requirements, the index is not about school districts themselves. Rather, the data provides insights into the communities each school district serves. The index provides a useful tool for a wide range of state- and regional-level policymakers, nonprofits, state agencies, and other stakeholders to help them make better informed decisions about resource allocation, policies, and programming, and prioritize communities most in need. (IL Public Act 103-0413)

Children’s Adversity Index – Illinois Read More »

Communities of Practice: Facilitators’ Guide

July 28, 2025

A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of peers who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic, who come together regularly to fulfill both individual and group goals. A CoP provides an environment conducive to learning and exchange, emphasizing interactions in a climate of mutual trust and respect. Within the RSSI framework, a CoP can also serve as a strategy within a school or district’s action plan, helping to deepen implementation and foster collaborative, practice-based growth. This guide provides the history of CoPs in Illinois’ trauma responsive schools work and helps facilitators plan for and facilitate a Community of Practice. This is guide is a collaboration among Center for Childhood Resilience, Partnership 4 Resilience, and Stress & Trauma Treatment Center.

Communities of Practice: Facilitators’ Guide Read More »

Compassion Resilience Toolkit for Schools

July 28, 2025

In efforts to build resilience in our students, this organziation advocates for examining our capacity personally and professionally to model that which we strive to build. This toolkit explores the protective factors that build and maintain compassion resilience. toolkit will explore the protective factors that build and maintain compassion resilience.

Compassion Resilience Toolkit for Schools Read More »

Z- Golden Apple – Trauma, Racism and Equity – Abridged

July 17, 2025

Open to access this content

Z- Golden Apple – Trauma, Racism and Equity – Abridged Read More »

Teach Illinois

July 15, 2025

TeachIllinois offers online Professional Learning opportunities for ALL educators – you don’t have to live in Illinois to participate. The offers courses that qualify for official PD Hours toward recertification for a small fee.

Teach Illinois Read More »

Communities of Practice: Facilitators’ Guide

July 15, 2025

Communities of Practice: Facilitators’ Guide Read More »

How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime

July 15, 2025

Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain.

How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime Read More »

Trauma-Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA)

July 15, 2025

The Trauma-Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA) is a school-wide, evidence-informed quality improvement tool designed to help schools identify strengths and areas for growth in trauma-responsive practices. The TRS-IA generates a detailed feedback report highlighting school strengths and areas for growth across eight domains. This report serves as a catalyst for action planning, programming, and policy development, helping teams build school cultures rooted in safety, equity, and healing. Developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center for Resilience, Hope, and Wellness in Schools, and the National Center for School Mental Health, the TRS-IA supports schools in creating safer, more supportive environments for students impacted by trauma.

Trauma-Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA) Read More »

Trauma-Informed Practices: A Whole-School Policy Framework

July 15, 2025

Researchers suggest that students with many ACEs may be at risk for academic or behavioral issues without officially meeting the diagnostic standards for receiving special education services or interventions. This research article explores a trauma-informed whole-school policy framework to address these issues.

Trauma-Informed Practices: A Whole-School Policy Framework Read More »

Trauma Responsive

Start Building Resilience and Healing in Schools