Having a trauma-informed approach can be vital in Ontario’s diverse schools. Many students, particularly newcomer students, arrive in schools having experienced traumatic events: first-hand experience with armed conflict, family separation, or losing one’s home – just to name a few examples. These students may also be in the early steps of learning English, which adds to the challenge of understanding their unique needs.
Newcomer students that have experienced trauma may show up in school in a variety of ways. For example, they may be dysregulated, have hard time staying focused in their learning, be sensitive to different stimuli, or may not display any indication that they are traumatized at all. There is no single way a child will respond to trauma, but research indicates that prolonged exposure to trauma has a significant impact on the development of the brain.
I recall having multiple students that experienced the death of parents as a direct result of war in their home countries. One student was eager to engage with his peers and was open to communicating about his life experiences right away. Another student was distant and reluctant to interact with her teachers and classmates, and needed frequent breaks from her busy classroom.
Because the impact of trauma in children shows up in so many forms, it is important for educators to understand how to support learners, especially when they are emergent English speakers. These students typically a difficult time communicating their needs, emotions, and are likely also experiencing the stress that comes with learning in a new language and school environment. Adding to their unique student portrait may also be significant learning literacy and numeracy gaps from having missed years of formal schooling.
As an educator, it is not uncommon to feel underprepared and under-resourced when welcoming newcomer MLLs (multilingual language learners) that have experienced trauma into school. It’s important to know how to support these unique learners effectively, who to turn to for support, and what resources will be the most useful and practical in the contexts we work in.
In the first part of this blog, we looked at how Nara, an Ontario educator, used the “Discover – Connect – Respond” strategy to calm a newcomer MLL who was on the verge of having a bad day. Now, let’s take a look at some practical, trauma-informed approaches that can be leveraged as a starting point for helping students in this unique group.
Build a Detailed Student Portrait
Gathering information about the learner’s family background, prior experiences, and journey is an essential starting point for taking a trauma-informed approach. Take note that much of this information is highly personal and confidential, so discretion is key.
Often the first place to find out about the background of a student is through family interviews. Some boards may have a process in place to welcome newcomer students where an interpreter and settlement worker is available at the time of registration, and guardians may share information about their child’s experiences, including those that are traumatic.
When a newcomer initial assessment and orientation report is not available, sensitive information might surface through conversations with the student or family interviews. If you discover information about a student’s previous trauma through such interactions, it is important to share that information with an administrator and support team so it can be documented appropriately in your board’s student information system or the Ontario School Record (OSR).
One useful tool for gathering information is the “7 Factors Impacting Student Learning” table. Use it as a guideline for building a student portrait, or adapt it to suit your own workflow.
Create Safe and Supportive Learning Environments
There are so many ways educators can take a trauma-informed approach to managing the classroom that are good for all learners. For example, establishing predictable routines in the classroom not only makes the learning environment feel stable and organized – it helps students to feel safe and secure. Having timetables posted, routines for entry and exit times, designated areas where supplies and notebooks are kept, and clear expectations for behaviour that are consistently maintained will help students to feel supported.
When possible, create spaces in the classroom or the school where students can calm down, get quiet time, or have an alternative space to simply be in. Teamwork in the school can be critical for making this kind of space available for students and also developing guidelines for how it might be administered.
Provide Opportunities for Students to Communicate their Emotions
Newcomer students who are just learning English may need scaffolds to communicate what they are feeling and what their needs are when they are feeling dysregulated. As educators, we can facilitate communication by making translation devices accessible, teaching social emotional vocabulary, and providing aids that students can easily use to show how they are feeling.
Ultimately, taking a trauma-informed approach with newcomer multilingual learners is less about having the perfect strategy and more about developing a stance of curiosity, compassion, and shared responsibility. When we intentionally build student portraits that go beyond academic concerns, create predictable and supportive environments, and offer meaningful ways for students to communicate their emotions, we send an important message to the newcomers in our care: you are safe here, and you belong.
Part 1 may be found here.
Discover, Connect, Respond: The Importance of Social and Emotional Learning for MLLs
