Knox, Cumberland and ETSU pilots link trauma‑informed classrooms to neighborhood supports

A cluster of district and university teams described local efforts to make schools trauma informed and extend support into neighborhoods, with pilot programs and early outcome data that local leaders say support wider adoption.

Knox County Schools: Janice Cook, director of school culture for Knox County, described a five‑year expansion of the district's Department of School Culture into a multi‑disciplinary operation that trains staff in brain science, restorative practices and therapeutic crisis intervention. "We start off by having a process," Cook said, summarizing the district's "brain science, behavior and cognition" approach and noting large‑scale staff training (hundreds to more than 1,000 annual training contacts) and partnerships, including with the International Institute for Restorative Practices.

Cumberland County: Colleen Moll, president of the Cumberland County Trauma Informed Community Alliance (a 501(c)(3) formed in 2022), described a county strategy connecting schools, faith groups, local government and development districts to address child and family services, housing and recovery supports. The alliance plans a summer pilot (summer school + neighborhood "fun Fridays") expected to serve roughly 700 students and neighborhood sites of 100–150 children, with early identification and "reach back" to safe‑school counselors. William (Billy) Stepp, superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, said the district is coordinating staff development, policy and data work and is piloting classroom and community transitions.

University research and outcomes: Ginger Christian and Megan Quinn of ETSU's Strong BRAIN Institute described an interdisciplinary PK–12 resilient‑schools model that combines training, coaching and assessment. Christian highlighted a Unicoi County example: "34 out of a 109 high school students were effectively moved from receiving Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports back to Tier 1," and she said Unicoi Middle School's chronic absenteeism fell from 21% to 2.5% after implementing reset spaces and trauma‑informed processes. Christian and Quinn emphasized survey‑based assessment, bridges from office discipline referrals back to class and principal coaching as central components.

Why it matters: Presenters tied classroom practices to larger community continuity: reset spaces and restorative practices keep students in school and create more consistent transitions as students move between schools and neighborhood supports. Local leaders said the alliances and university partners allow small and rural districts to scale practices without reinventing programs, while funding and partner support (Ballad Health, local grants) provided materials and reset‑room resources in some schools.

What happens next: Counties and districts plan summer pilots, intent to gather implementation data and offer follow‑up webinars and roundtables to share lessons and build regional capacity.