We consider social and emotional learning and health in response to the child’s experiences of trauma. CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Leaning) defines social and emotional learning as “the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy of others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” These skills and knowledge are greatly impacted by trauma. We concentrate on building systems of support for the child that will mediate the development of these social and emotional attributes that will enable the child to progress academically, socially, and emotionally in the school context.

In Fostering Resilient Learners by Souers and Hall (2016) trauma is defined as, “…an exceptional experience in which powerful and dangerous events overwhelm a person’s capacity to cope.” The understanding that all of our children that we serve have experienced such events, we focus on informing the educational contexts in which the children engage to consider these elements of a holistic culture of health as they interact, teach, build relationships, and plan for the educational lives of these children in their care. This focus also extends to the caregivers and inter-system providers that offer support for these children.