Creating Trauma-Informed Schools, by All Means Necessary: Examining Collective Impact in a Rural Setting

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Addressing Educational Issues in Rural Contexts

Abstract

Over 8.9 million students attend rural schools—more than the enrollments of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and the next 75 largest school districts combined. As rural spaces struggle with high levels of need and chronic underinvestment, the strategy of pooling resources and taking collaborative action has become ever more critical. Unfortunately, the majority of explorations and applications of collective impact theory have taken place in non-rural settings, and there is little documentation of what collective impact might look like in a setting that has, by definition, fewer resources and stakeholders. This report examines the developmental stages of a collective impact effort in the rural Midwest that seeks to mitigate the effects of trauma on student achievement and wellbeing.

Author

• Jessica Boyle, Stanford University