60% of Educators Have NO Training in Trauma-Informed Practices

60% of Educators have NO training in Trauma-Informed Practices.

By Dr. Will Henson

I’ve been working with kids with challenging behavior for 28 years. I use trauma-informed practices because they are the most effective intervention I’ve found.  As a consultant, I’ve gone to this almost exclusively and moved my client districts toward this. I often wonder: why isn’t everyone using this approach?

A recent study showed that while 63% of educators had been trained to use PBIS, and 52% had training in de-escalation strategies only 27% of educators had training in Trauma-Informed practices (another 13% were unsure if they had). Meanwhile, data shows that up to 45% of students in school today are reporting the critical level of 3 or more ACEs. So why aren’t trauma-informed practices being taught in our schools?

In my experience helping districts become trauma-informed here are some reasons I encounter:

1. People are unaware of the widespread incidence of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
2. People think that other practices they are doing are already sufficient.
3. People think that trauma-informed practices only work for students who are identified as having had traumatic childhoods.

I believe that moving to a trauma-informed model is the best, and most effective, way to address challenging behavior, and support students.