On Tuesday, August 19th, 2014, the first day of my Advanced Level Field Placement as an M.S.W. Student at Temple University, I participated in the second Philadelphia ACEs Virtual Connection Group “Meet-Up” at the Friends Center. While first days of anything, whether it is a gym class or a diet, are typically nerve-wracking, that day was different. Entering the space, I immediately saw a few familiar faces from the Health Federation of Philadelphia and the Scattergood Foundation. After grabbing something to drink and a snack, I struck up a conversation with someone who was a former intern with Multiplying Connections, expressing her excitement for me and the new endeavor I was about to begin.
Little by little, my nerves calmed and my excitement grew as 20 individuals began to introduce themselves, their work, and why they believed creating a trauma-informed city was critical to solve some of the most pressing social problems of our time. The goal of the two-hour event was not only to create a live forum for a virtual initiative, but to inform participants of the ways in which adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape a child’s educational experience. From working with children, youth and families, I know first-hand that trauma and its impact do not occur in isolation – peers, teachers, administrators, districts and communities are all affected by ACEs as well.
Maura McInerney, senior staff attorney with the Education Law Center, elaborated on her work with the children and families in the Philadelphia education system, advocating and litigating on their behalf in cases of discipline, truancy, school stability and enrollment. In her work, ranging from local cases to national presentations, Mrs. McInerney promotes the use of trauma informed practice, in particular in the courts and on a policy level.
Ivan Haskell, director of social and psychological services with Mastery Charter Schools, described a school and system-wide vision from the dream of a trauma informed care proponent. While in the initial stages of implementation at the Philadelphia campuses of Mastery Charter schools, the transformational culture model has the potential to revolutionize the student-classroom-community relationship. The model utilizes a multi-systems approach to education while placing the primary role with the classroom teacher – if educators know and understand themselves and their students in the context of trauma, race, culture and community, they will be better equipped to create a classroom that encourages academic growth, personal fulfillment, self-efficacy and positive behavior. Training, trauma-informed programming and continual support for teachers will foster a truly learner-centered school environment while ensuring that members of the school staff are happy as well.
Sarah Zlotnik, senior strategist at PolicyLab at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, presented a study that was commissioned through a collaboration of the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), the Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC), the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Mayor’s Office of Education (MOE). “Supporting the Needs of Students Involved with the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice System in the School District of Philadelphia” (Hwang, Griffis, Song, and Rubin, 2014) utilized data from the SDP and DHS to track the enrollment, attendance, and achievement of students enrolled during the 2011-2012 academic year who had previously been involved in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system as well.
The results were staggering! Out of the 68,525 students in the study, 17% were found to have been involved in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system, with that statistic increasing to 1/5 during high school. Students who had been involved in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system received special education services at a rate 64% greater than those who had no involvement. Lastly, academic performance and attendance rates were also much lower in students who had been involved in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system as well.
Paulo Freire, the famous Brazilian educator and philosopher, stated in his book The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968): “Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”
Each of the speakers at the second Philadelphia ACEs Connection “Meet-Up” are working towards a society that encourages an acknowledgement and understanding of trauma and an empowerment for students, families and organizations to sustainably support one another in that process towards personal and communal freedom from ACEs. As an intern, I am excited to be a part of this movement in any way I can!
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