Project Summary
No Child Left Behind Act, now known as Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, requires schools to meet state accountability objectives for increasing the English-language proficiency of English Language Learners. Immigration is associated with adverse health outcomes such as increased risk for depression, anxiety, and PTSD (Cohodes, 2021). Migrant children lose what is familiar to them such as supportive social networks created by family members and friends when they migrate to another country. It is common for migrant children to experience adversity prior to, during and after going through migration (Cohodes, 2021). Migrant children often experience trauma in their country of origin before migrating. As many as 80% of immigrant children are exposed to trauma prior to migration (Cohodes, 2021). The trauma the child experiences is caused by living in a threatening environment, such as living in a war zone or experiencing domestic violence (Cohodes, 2021). Living in a threatening environment places children at an increased risk of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Cohodes, 2021). Trauma experienced during the migration process exacerbates the previous trauma effects that the child has experienced (Cohodes, 2021). Once the child has entered the US school system after migration, the child commonly reports nausea, headaches, and attention difficulties while attending their classes (Cohodes, 2021). These detrimental health effects of migration require intervention if the child is to be successful at school. To address these needs, the project aims to educate Sugarloaf school staff in trauma informed educational approach, equip classrooms with meditation and relaxation materials as well as build social support for the migrant child. The goal is for the child to adjust to their new school and score well on school proficiency testing in English as required by Student Succeeds Act of 2015.
Trauma-Informed Principles
Trauma informed principles recognize experiences that people can have that have a negative emotional impact; are traumatizing, terrifying or overwhelming to the individual (CDC, 2024). Organizations that use the trauma informed principles are making a commitment not to repeat these distressing events and help the individual and communities restore their sense of peace and safety (CDC, 2024). There are six trauma informed principles. They are safety, trustworthiness & transparency, peer support, collaboration & mutuality, empowerment & choice, cultural, historical & gender issues (CDC, 2024). Utilizing the trauma informed principles will help show the community what trauma caused by migration looks like and how to address it. The safety principle’s function is to ensure that throughout the organization, people feel psychologically and physically safe (SAMHSA, 2014). The trustworthiness and transparency principle’s function are to create trust between staff, clients and people receiving services within an organization (SAMHSA, 2014). The peer support and mutual self-help principle are used to establish and build trust, create a feeling of safety and empowerment (SAMHSA, 2014). The collaboration and mutuality principle explains that everyone within an organization has the power to follow a trauma informed approach, they do not need to be a trained mental health specialist to have the power to heal (SAMHSA, 2014). The empowerment voice and choice principle explain that every person’s lived experience is unique. The principle describes how we should focus on what communities have to offer rather than focusing on their deficits (SAMHSA, 2014). The cultural, historical and gender issues principle help organizations not be biased and recognizes and addresses historical and cultural trauma (SAMHSA, 2014).
The safety principle will be utilized in this program to create safe spaces for students within classrooms. Classrooms will be equipped with relaxation furniture and made visually appealing. The peer support and mutual self-help principle will be put into effect by encouraging storytelling by students with lived experience of migration. This will create a positive learning environment in which different cultures can be explored, discussed, and studied. Discussing different cultures and learning about them is a prevention and recovery from mental health issues tool (Bhui, 2022). The cultural, historical and gender issues principle will be applied in such a way that will enable immigrant students to preserve their culture of birth while integrating into their new culture. The screening, assessment and treatment services will be used by the school to screen students for new development of mental health issues, their ability to adapt and be resilient and their assessment of trauma experienced, such as in the form of school bullying.
This will be accomplished by creating safe places within the school where children feel safe, calm, and relaxed, allowing them to learn and play comfortably. These safe places will be in each classroom and the class decor will be up to the classroom’s teacher. The classroom safe spaces can include things like bright furniture, wall decorations, relaxation matts and pillow or any other furniture item the teacher finds appropriate.
Level of the Social Ecological Model
The community level of the social ecological model will be utilized for this intervention. The focus of this social ecological model level will be the school the children attend, Sugarloaf School. The prevention strategy at this level will consist of improving the physical and social environment in the classrooms and school community. The social environment in the classrooms and school community can be moved in a positive direction with the help of teachers. Teachers can use technology to their advantage to explore different cultures in the classroom; utilizing multimedia learning to create a learning environment that is effective and positive, creating confidence and enjoyment in learning for the students (Qiu, 2022). Teachers can introduce meditation and mindfulness into their curriculum. They can provide medication mats, blankets, and pillows in one corner of the classroom for students to use when doing daily guided mindfulness and meditation exercises led by their teacher to learn relaxation techniques.
Public Health Framework
The public health framework uses three levels. The primary level prevents disease before it occurs. The secondary level reduces impact of the trauma experienced. The tertiary level treats ACEs (Kisling, 2023). This project focuses on the primary level. The primary level of prevention aims to prevent mental health disease before it occurs. This will be done by improving school spaces and incentivizing healthy behaviors. School teachers and parents will be educated about ACEs and different ways of combating the effects of ACEs in the form of parent teacher meeting and informational flyers sent home about ACEs. Focus will be on increasing resistance to disease and becoming resilient.
References
Cohodes, E. M., Kribakaran, S., Odriozola, P., Bakirci, S., McCauley, S., Hodges, H. R., Sisk, L. M., Zacharek, S. J., & Gee, D. G. (2021). Migration-related trauma and mental health among migrant children emigrating from Mexico and Central America to the United States: Effects on developmental neurobiology and implications for policy. Developmental psychobiology, 63(6), e22158. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22158
Estefan, L. F., Ports, K. A., & Hipp, T. (2017). Unaccompanied Children Migrating from Central America: Public Health Implications for Violence Prevention and Intervention. Current trauma reports, 3(2), 97–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40719-017-0082-2
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