IASB Developing Training Course for Trauma-Responsive Practices 

An Illinois law effective in 2023 adds trauma-responsive practices to state-mandated training for school board members. The Illinois Association of School Boards is preparing an online training course on the impact of experienced trauma on individuals, designed for school board members charged with considering how to provide and allocate district resources to support individuals who have experienced trauma.  

IASB has partnered with clinical psychologist Doug Bolton, Ph.D. and the Illinois non-profit Partnership For Resilience to provide content that will be included in the mandatory training bundle available to school board members following the April election.  

Bolton is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Director of School Consultation for Formative Psychological Services. He spent over 20 years as a psychologist and principal at North Shore Academy, a K-12 therapeutic school in Highland Park. Bolton provides consultation, supervision, and professional development to parents, educators, and clinicians throughout Illinois to create communities that help foster student and staff resilience. 

Co-presenting is Kristine Argue-Mason, Executive Director for Partnership For Resilience, an Illinois non-profit corporation working to improve academic, health, and social outcomes for children by fostering trauma-responsive schools and effective family, school, health, and community partnerships.  Argue-Mason was a teacher for 15 years and then a resources director with IEA/NEA, where she developed training and coaching to help increase awareness of trauma-responsive practices.  Partnership for Resilience supports school/community partnerships in 27 school districts in south-suburban Cook County near Chicago, rural southern Illinois, and Springfield.  

IASB will include the new, state mandated trauma-informed practices content within its Professional Development Leadership Training online course. This on-demand interactive content is delivered to registrants via an online learning management platform. School board members who register for the course have access to the training for a period of one year. 

The training will meet the requirements of Section 10-16a of the School Code on trauma-informed practices for students and staff. While this new requirement applies to new school board members, IASB will have a standalone course for existing school board members interested in completing the training. 

The course will be available at the Online Learning Center after April 3, 2023.