Hand in Hand: A Manual for Creating Trauma-Informed Leadership Committees

Hand in Hand: A Manual for Creating Trauma-Informed Leadership Committees arose from a problem experienced by many schools an abundance of struggling students coupled with a scarcity of mental health resources to support them. This manual grew out of the passion of a clinical psychologist, two former special education teachers, a behavior specialist, and a public school principal to create strong trauma-informed leadership teams within their district. Following the clear, easy-to- implement guidelines found in this manual, school leaders across the country now have a realistic, practical, and nuts-and-bolts guide to moving their schools from just surviving to thriving!

Gerald L. Cox, Psy.D., has practiced as a licensed psychologist for 31 years, and he has served as a consultant to the school districts in the St. Louis metropolitan area for 25 years. Currently a full-time school consultant, Dr. Cox has been teaching educators about the impact of childhood adversity and toxic stress on learning and helping school districts develop and implement trauma-informed practices in buildings and classrooms. Dr. Cox has spoken at numerous conferences on trauma-informed school practices, and he co-lead a workgroup created to help the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education inform and train Missouri schools on trauma-informed practices. Dr. Cox was one of the initial developers of Trauma-Informed Leadership Committees. He has provided regular, ongoing clinical support and training for these teams since their inception.

Kimberly F. Arnold, M.A.Ed., has worked in various roles in the education field over the past 28 years. Kimberly has worked as a para-professional, pre-kindergarten teacher, and a special education teacher. Currently, she works as a behavior specialist for the Fort Zumwalt School District in O Fallon, Missouri. She supports school staffs through collaboration in writing trauma-informed Individualized Education Programs. She also consults with problem-solving teams to implement trauma-informed interventions for students with social, emotional, and behavioral concerns. Training administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals on trauma-informed best teaching practices across the school district has led to her involvement with developing the Trauma-Informed Leadership Committee (TLC) model.

Theresa Kummer is a Behavior Specialist and former Special Education teacher for the Fort Zumwalt School District in O Fallon, MO. She spent 14 years in the classroom and currently supports students impacted by trauma, as well as their teachers. Theresa collaborates with school staff and IEP teams to develop and implement trauma-informed strategies, interventions, BIPs, and IEPs. She trainscertified staff and support staff on trauma-informed classroom practices. She helped develop the Trauma-Informed Leadership Committee, helped create a manual for the model, and has trained and supported TLC teams.

Deanne McCullough, Ed.D., is an Executive Director of Behavior Support Services in the Fort Zumwalt School District. She currently serves as the building administrator of a separate public school for students in grades K-8 with social, emotional, and behavioral concerns. In addition to being a building administrator, Deanne supports district-level programs for students with similar needs. Previous educational positions have included elementary principal, assistant principal, regular education teacher in grades 3-5, and special education teacher for students with behavioral needs in elementary, middle, and high school. Deanne works with other administrators, teachers, and support staff members throughout the district to help implement trauma-sensitive strategies and collaborates about staff training needs. She meets regularly with building administrators to support the development and sustainability of effective Trauma-Informed Leadership Committees (TLC s).

Amanda E. Settle, M.A.Ed., is a behavior specialist with the Fort Zumwalt School District in Missouri and has seven years of experience working as a special education teacher with a focus on challenging behavior. Amanda collaborates with and supports district programs that focus on trauma-informed approaches at the secondary level. She works closely with teams to help develop and implement trauma-informed interventions and strategies, Individualized Education Programs, and behavior intervention plans.