ADDRESSING TRAUMA USING CALM WITH CHARACTER: TRANSFORMING TEACHER PRACTICES, PERCEPTIONS, AND TEACHER STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS

Mental health conditions related to trauma among American children is a concern, particularly because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and other human made or natural traumatic circumstances. Children, as students, carry the trauma they encounter with them into the classroom. Students impacted by trauma learn differently due to effects on the brain that relate to several impairments, causing them to perform poorly in school. However, teachers may not always understand this issue. This mixed method study was conducted entirely online during the Covid-19 pandemic and investigated the impacts of a teacher professional development on trauma-impacted students with a follow-up component using the Calm with Character (2C) program. The 2C program was designed to improve teacher student relationship, teacher perceptions about trauma and trauma-impacted students, and improve student outcomes. The six participants included teachers in a K-8 low-income, minority population charter school. The assessment tools used were the Teacher Student Relationship Scale, a Teacher Perception Scale, and a Student Outcomes Survey. The findings showed no statistically significant changes in teacher student relationships and teacher perceptions about working with trauma-impacted students. Student outcomes did not show any improvement in academics or stress; however, the results indicated that student grades were maintained, and teachers were satisfied with their classrooms because students were self-regulating. The qualitative findings indicated that teachers developed tolerance for social emotional learning, particularly in an online situation. Despite no significant difference in pre- and post-outcomes, the intervention potentially prevented deterioration of student outcomes under traumatic circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential to use 2C both online and face-to-face should be further studied