Student Well-Being Support

Strong Relationships

Research indicates having at least one trusted school adult can protect against a variety of mental health factors, improve student engagement and academic outcomes (Roorda et. al, 2011). Positive student-teacher relationships have also been tied to higher-quality teaching (Li et. al, 2022). The relationships encourage teacher motivation, effort, and confidence. Moreover, teacher-student relationships may also improve teacher well-being by mitigating certain classroom stressors, demonstrating their impact not just for students but also for school adults (Spilt et. al, 2011). As the pandemic frayed or broke many relationship structures, it is especially important now, for teachers and students, to have the support to rebuild relationships.

Knowing and Managing Self and Others

Models for student well-being attempt to identify the factors shown to be related to success in the world. Included in these models are skills such as self-management, self-awareness, relationships/engagement with others, and emotional regulation (Greenberg, 2023; Chernyshenko et. al, 2018). Developing these skills in educators and in students is important for student well-being and academic success. For example, students who receive instruction on these skills show improvement in academic performance, decision-making and problem-solving skills, and reducing disruptive behavioral problems (Mahoney et. al, 2019; Green et. al, 2021; Greenberg, 2023).

Culture and Climate

Student well-being at school is intricately tied to school culture and climate. Well-being efforts both support and build upon a strong school culture and climate (Pennsylvania State University, 2018). Principals are key to building a supportive school climate and developing responses to students’ well-being needs. Moreover, “Principals who build a school climate in which teachers and students feel emotionally supported provide a bedrock on which academic improvement efforts can rest” (Grissom et al., 2021). Principals are critical in organizing schools which help students feel safe and supported (Jacobson et al., 2007).

Trauma-Informed Practice

Trauma is prevalent in our schools, more than two thirds of children report at least one traumatic event by age 16 (SAMSHA, 2019). Trauma is the response to an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is physically or emotionally harmful and that has lasting adverse effects on an individual (SAMHSA, 2014). Trauma can have a broad impact on students, including on their behaviors, relationships, and capacity for learning.

Children exposed to adverse childhood experiences, such as many experienced during the pandemic, often exhibit challenges with skills critical for success in school such as executive functioning, social skills, and emotional regulation (Jones et al., 2021). Educators therefore must be equipped with the skills to recognize and respond appropriately to trauma to ensure student well-being and academic success.

Educators are trauma-informed when they understand the impact of trauma, recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma, and respond in an informed manner that provides support and avoids re-traumatization. Educators who become trauma-informed are better equipped to support students that have experienced trauma and facilitate personally and academically beneficial outcomes for the students they serve.

Building principals’ capacity to be trauma-informed assists them in expanding both their own and other’s abilities to recognize students experiencing trauma and to develop and respond with classroom-level and school-wide interventions.