Trauma Informed School
Heusner has been working hard to become a trauma informed school. We have a trauma leadership team that meets 2 times a month. This leadership team guides staff in new learning and strategies to support all students that walk through our doors.
We Believe…
- We believe kids do well if they can. We believe that if they can’t we need to teach the lagging emotional/social/academic skills.
- We believe in a strong, supportive community to achieve emotional and academic success for students, families, and educators.
- We believe in exploring new strategies in order to support teachers, students and families. All ideas are worth trying.
- We believe in building safe and loving relationships with students and families.
- We believe in becoming a trauma informed school through the study of …
- The impact of trauma on students, families and staff;
- Trauma services in school;
- Proactive strategies to support students and teachers;
- Supporting positive behavior
At Heusner you will find the following resources/strategies to support students:
- Every morning all students begin their day with a morning meeting. This is a time where students build connections and support each other as part of a community.
- Peace Zone in each classroom. Peace zone is where students can go to calm and self regulate.
- Time Machine – This is a conflict resolution strategy that helps students work through conflict.
- Zones of Regulation – We are teaching students to be self reflective and recognize how they are feeling and helping to give students tools to move to a calm state.
- Peaceful Playgrounds – Recess can be a time where some students struggle. We have added a variety of games for students to play at recess.
- We have partnered with Central Kansas Mental Health to bring mental health services to students during the school day.
Heusner has a Family Support Coordinator that helps support students who are dysregulated and provides resources to families.