Havre schools applying for trauma-sensitive program

Havre public school officials are hoping Havre schools will be selected to be part of a national pilot program that would train teachers how better to interact with and teach students who’ve had a traumatic upbringing.

Curtis Smeby, a professor at Montana State University-Northern and a Havre Public School District trustee, spearheaded the application process after he said he saw an advertisement for trauma-sensitive school national learning community.

The point of the program, he said, is to “raise awareness and increase our ability to work with kids.”

Havre Public Schools Superintendent Andy Carlson said in an email, “We know that we have children impacted by trauma. Trauma impacts learning and child development.

“The trauma pilot school program application is to initiate a baseline understanding of how trauma impacts children,” Carlson said. “Our goal at this stage is professional development and understanding how we can coordinate community groups to offer a layer of support for children impacted by trauma.”

If chosen, Havre schools would be one of 20 K-12 school districts in which anyone who works for the district — teachers, bus drivers, janitors — would be trained in recognizing students who’ve grown up, or spent significant time, in a toxic home environment, Smeby said.

The trauma-sensitive schools program is not a way to make excuses for certain behaviors or to coddle students, but a way to approach troubled  students in a way that is more likely to lead to greater academic success, and ultimately, healthy living, he said.

“When we run into problems with people, we often say to folks, ‘Curtis, what’s the matter with you?’ We use that. So we change the language from ‘What’s the matter with Curtis?’ to the language of ‘What happened to Curtis?’ It changes everything,” he said of the program’s approach.

According to the Adverse Childhood Experience study, which is done by the National Council for Behavioral Health, adverse childhood experiences can cause neurodevelopmental disruption and social, emotional and cognitive impairment, among other things.

“A child impacted by trauma may experience physical ailments, intrusive thoughts and fears, and decreased attention and concentration, all which impact learning,” a statement from the NCBH says.

Some of the questions in the ACEs study include:

“While you were growing up during your first 18 years of life: did a parent or other adult in your household often swear to you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you, or act in a way that made you feel afraid that you might be physically hurt? Did a parent or other adult in your household push, grab, slap or throw something at you? Did a parent or other adult in your household ever hit you so hard that you had marks or injury? Were you ever abused sexually? Did you often feel that nobody loved you? Did you often feel that you were neglected? Were your parents ever separated or divorced?

NCBH statistics say that at least 59 percent of the general population has experienced at least one adverse childhood event; four of every 10 children in America say they experienced a physical assault during the past year, with one in 10 receiving an assault-related injury; and more than 60 percent of youth 17 and younger have been exposed to crime, violence and abuse either directly or indirectly.

NCBH says that behavioral health, social service and community organizations have participated in the National Council’s Trauma-Informed Learning Communities since 2011. Educators have been implementing trauma-sensitive practices, and they are teaching social, emotional noncognitive and resilience skills to all students in the school.

“They are moving from traditional discipline, such as suspension and withholding recess, to mindfulness and restorative practices,” NCBH says. “And, they are seeing amazing results, including decreases in suspensions and office referrals and increases in attendance, student engagement, academic success and graduation.”

Along with of Bullhook Community Health Center and the district, many groups are working to get the trauma-sensitive program to Havre schools — MSU-Northern; Northern Montana Child Development Center; Parent-Teacher Organization; Northern Montana Hospital; District 4 Human Resources Development Council; and Office of Public Instruction — and there is always room for more, Smeby  said.

The application to be part of the program, which is due this week, costs $7,500. Of that, Smeby said $2,500 will be paid by the Hill County Mental Health Local Advisory Council, another $2,500 will come from Bullhook and the last $2,500 will come from the coffers of the school district.

Smeby said he understood why, to some people, $7,500 may seem expensive just apply for a program.

“National Council for Behavioral Health is nonprofit — that’s where it goes,” he said of the money. “It’s to build ... build the webinars, build the consultations, do part of the organizations for the workshop. … What we spend in the community to deal with issues that may be related to trauma, I would suggest, are hundreds times the amount (the cost of the application).”

And as to what the trauma-sensitive program will cost Havre taxpayers, should the program be implemented, Smeby said, it would be minimal, if anything at all.

If anything, he added, the region would probably save money.

“There would be people in the prison and jail population that are perfect examples of behaviors or history that are pretty high,” he said. “We are paying for it, over and over and over, again. And it is costly. If we do other things, it may be less costly.”

But it’s also going to be hard work, he said, referring to the effort it would take to successfully implement the program.

Smeby said he will know by Jan. 20 if Havre schools have been accepted to be part of trauma-sensitive schools. Anyone with questions or comments can contact Smeby at smebyc@msun.edu or Havre Public Schools Superintendent Andy Carlson at carlsona@blueponyk12.com.