State funds, trainings expand 'resilient school' work across Tennessee

Tennessee education and child‑wellness leaders described a multiplatform effort to build trauma‑informed, resilient schools across the state, funded in part by a $10.2 million Department of Health award distributed to 97 districts in fiscal 2023 and supplemented for 23 districts in fiscal 2024.

Jamie Grammer, project manager for Project AWARE at the Tennessee Department of Education, said the FY23 award was intended to boost district capacity for mental‑health supports and districtwide resilience work. "It gave them some money to do some things," Grammer said, noting the state later targeted additional funds to districts that chose a "resilient school community" priority.

Why it matters: Districts have used the grants both to train teams and to hire staff who deliver services during the school day — approaches that leaders say reduce classroom removals and keep students in school. Grammer said the state trained 213 school teams in fall 2022 under the Building Strong Brains curriculum and followed with a six‑pillar review in 2023 to standardize practices such as predictable structures, supportive relationships and restorative discipline.

What officials told the webinar: Grammer outlined how the grant funded staff and services. In fiscal 2023 the program funded 158 positions (109 LEA employees and 42 contracted roles); through Dec. 31 of the following reporting period grantees reported 69 new hires (65 LEA employees, four contract hires). She said districts used funds for behavior specialists, learning‑loss liaisons, activity coordinators, social workers and teletherapy arrangements.

District leadership described benefits and limits. "Having another person in the building with a mental‑health background has really, really been very beneficial," Grammer said, summarizing grantee feedback. Promising practices included small‑group counseling, teletherapy to reduce barriers for families, grief centers and the Handle With Care program to alert schools after traumatic events.

What did not work as well: Hiring proved difficult in many rural districts, the presenters said. Reported barriers included small applicant pools, budget uncertainty for sustaining one‑year positions, and rural pay and commute differentials. Grammer said some grantees compensated by partnering with local universities to create pipelines and internships.

Early measurable effects: Several districts reported declines in suspensions and improvements in attendance. Grammer cited an example of a district that reduced chronic absenteeism by 4.3 percentage points (from 42% to 37.7%) after implementing grant‑funded strategies; the state presentation also highlighted reductions in disciplinary referrals where schools added restorative practices and reset spaces.

What's next: The department continues regional trainings, monthly communities of practice for grantees and an emphasis on the train‑the‑trainer approach so districts can sustain practices locally. Grammer provided a public list of grantees and said the state will focus future support on sustaining positions and scaling effective local practices.