St. Thomas’ Morrison Family College of Health and its School of Education have partnered to launch the Minnesota Institute for Trauma-Informed Education (MITIE) on May 1st, 2021.

MITIE aims to train educators, school psychologists, social workers and administrators at St. Thomas and beyond to assist students who have experienced trauma.

“The institute was birthed out of recognizing there’s a need for teachers to be trained in practices de-escalating situations,” School of Education Dean Kathlene Campbell said.

The launch of this institute will come about during a global pandemic that has caused “collective traumas” according to St. Thomas senior and social work major Sophia Hansel.

COVID-19 has also left many school buildings vacant for months.

“If we want children to catch up or reduce the learning loss that’s occurred, we need to start with acknowledging the social and emotional well-being of our children,” Campbell said.

St. Thomas offers a Continuing and Professional Education course titled “Becoming Trauma-Informed: A Primer for Educators,” but according to Campbell, the university needs to go a lot deeper than offering one professional development course.

The institute will offer professional development training, monthly seminars and a trauma-informed school network.

“The reason why this network is so important is because we found in the education community, when we come together to share what’s working as well as what doesn’t, then we can learn from each other and not reinvent the wheel,” Campbell said.

College of Health Dean MayKao Hang said cultural competency and addressing cultural trauma is an integral part of the institute.

“Racial trauma is a form of trauma,” said Hang. “It really does create stress, injury and harm to children, so it’s one of the forms of trauma that needs to get addressed.”

MITIE will also offer opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in trainings.

“I would definitely want to see student involvement,” Hansel said. “I just think that’s so crucial.”

Success for this institute, according to Hang, looks like K-12 teachers, social workers, school psychologists and administrators understanding trauma, informed approaches, and applying them.

“St. Thomas is uniquely positioned to facilitate this type of work,” Hang said. “We’re taking the best of what we know and the disciplines that we know, and making this happen.”

Safiya Mohamed can be reached at moha9785@stthomas.edu.