Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH)
The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Center for Childhood Resilience, in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education, has launched the Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Statewide Initiative. Through this partnership, the Illinois State Board of Education collaborated on the expansion of the Center’s existing work to provide schools with the tools needed to support the social and emotional well-being of students and staff, at a time when the need for such support has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
REACH supports school districts and schools throughout Illinois to better understand and address the needs of the whole child through the creation of healthy learning environments that protect, support and heal. These learning environments ensure optimal levels of academic success for students and staff.
REACH provides virtual learning experiences to educators, school mental health professionals and community members on a number of topics related to trauma-responsive schools, including the signs and symptoms of trauma and the intersection of trauma, racism and equity.
As part of this initiative, participating school districts and schools form school level REACH teams comprised of the following key persons:
school administrator,
teacher,
mental health professional,
parent or caregiver,
community partner.
Other key activities include:
Attendance in professional learning collaboratives
Completion of a Trauma-Responsive Schools needs assessment,
Development of a trauma-responsive school action plan. Teams will receive coaching support to implement their action plan.
Schools participating in REACH also have an opportunity for school staff to join a REACH Community of Practice (CoP).
Each CoP centers a particular component of trauma-responsive schools. In these communities, participants share ideas, challenges and successes and engage in meaningful collaboration. CoP facilitators support members to translate knowledge and insights gained through their participation into concrete trauma-responsive and healing centered policies and practices (e.g., discipline policies or school-wide organizational self-care).
Through the REACH Learning and Resource Hub, all Illinois educators have access to free on-demand learning experiences. Through this Hub, people may receive training in trauma-focused topics, such as:
Introduction to Trauma
Trauma, Racism, and Equity
Educator Self-Care and Collective Care
Psychological First Aid
The Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Statewide Initiative is supported by Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER II) from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, please visit oese.ed.gov. Additional support has been provided by Grand Victoria Foundation and other philanthropic partners.