Heusner Elementary School

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.