Abstract
An extensive literature establishing the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their destructive impact over the lifespan has motivated recent efforts to fundamentally alter the educational milieu. One such initiative, entitled "Compassionate Schools," involves the training of educators in trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive practices, in the hopes of creating scholastic environments more conducive to widespread resilience. Despite encouraging initial reports, few studies have empirically evaluated the impact of Compassionate Schools training on attendees. The current investigation reports the results of two studies. In Study 1, participants completed a questionnaire 6 months after their Compassionate Schools trainings, including items relevant to mindset and behavior change. In Study 2, participants completed the Attitudes Relevant to Trauma Informed Care (ARTIC) scale before and after a Compassionate Schools training. The majority of participants in Study 1 reported enduring changes in mindset and behavior as a result of their trainings, and described those changes in terms consistent with the Compassionate Schools model. ARTIC responses in Study 2 suggested marked trauma-informed attitudinal improvements between pre- and post-training assessments. These data, although preliminary, are consistent with the Compassionate Schools paradigm, and empirically support its promise as a ACEs-informed intervention for educators.