Dovetail Learning's TOOLBOX a resource for schools seeking to be Trauma-Informed

Thanks so much for your reply, Chuck.  This information is very helpful and relevant for our work in Communities In Schools. 

Kris Downing, Clinical Coordinator

TOOLBOX™ SEL approach

Hi Kris — thanks for your great question. TOOLBOX is in many highly traumatized inner city schools (i.e., Richmond, Oakland, Boston, and others). Many schools begin with very poor climate and with teachers not on board with SEL. We find that if there are a few committed teachers, the work is so profound it spreads as teachers hear about success. One of those schools, Coronado Elementary, recently received a CA Blue Ribbon award for it's work with TOOLBOX. You can see a Wall Street Journal report on it here http://www.wsj.com/video/could...33-C1AE858E2A91.html 

~ Chuck Fisher, Executive Director, Dovetail Learning 

This sounds like a wonderful tool for social emotional learning.  It was powerful to hear directly from the students.  I noticed that in the research brief, both schools in the study already had very positive, high teacher ratings on their school climate and it sounds like a real commitment from teachers of supporting student's social emotional growth.  I wonder about implementation ideas and any research with schools who are struggling with making that commitment to social emotional learning and do not have a strong positive school climate.