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Resilience Supportive Schools Illinois (RSSI) is a free and voluntary support that uses school-specific data to connect educators with evidence-informed tools and resources to improve the mental health and well- being of their school communities.

Built off the Center for Childhood Resilience's REACH Initiative, RSSI understands that schools have unique needs so their improvement tools should be equally unique.

In collaboration with the Social Emotional Learning Hub directors and coaches, school districtswill:

  1. Get a Snapshot​
    • Complete a 15-question survey. RSSI will combine your answers with data from sources like the Illinois School Report Cared and 5Essentials to create a personalized snapshot of your school's strengths and needs.
  2. Choose a Focus
    • Use your snapshot to select one of the four RSSI pillars:
      • Trauma-Responsiveness
      • Social and Emotional Learning
      • Mental Health
      • Cultural Responsiveness, Anti-Racism and Equity
  3. Build Your Plan
    • Your SEL hub director will offer personal assistance with creating an action plan tailored to your school's goals with support from the RSSI website.

Learning and Resource Hub

  • The Center for Childhood Resilience offers a FREE educational resource in support of strategies pertaining to social and emotional learning, trauma-responsive practices, mental health, and healing for both staff and students. The Center for Childhood Resilience is an approved provider for ISBE professional development. NEW information and modules are added regularly.
  • Learning Playlists guide you through structured courses and resources that enhance skills and understanding about a specific topic. The playlists are structured to meet your level of readiness. Topics include supporting newcomer students, supporting the LGBTQ+ community, fostering inclusive classrooms, and building tiered support systems. 

For more information, contact your SEL Hub Director.​​​

Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH)

Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Statewide Initiative trains educators, school mental health professionals, and community members to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma and address students' social-emotional and mental health needs. The REACH Initiative was launched in December 2020 in partnership with Center for Childhood Resilience at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago along with Peoria Regional Office of Education 48. The 52 participating schools formed REACH teams to build the capacity to implement and expand trauma-responsive policies and practices.

ISBE partnered with the Illinois Department of Public Health and Center for Childhood Resilience to expand the initiative, using federal pandemic relief funds, to support the social and emotional well-being of students and staff at a time when the need for such support has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

REACH provides free, on-demand virtual learning experiences for educators, school mental health professionals, and community members on topics related to trauma-responsive schools through the REACH Learning and Resource Hub. These trainings cover topics that include the impact of trauma on children and adolescents, the intersection of racism and trauma, crisis response strategies, educator self-care, and schoolwide policies and classroom practices to build resiliency among students.

As part of this initiative, participating districts form school-level REACH teams composed of the following key positions:

  • School administrator
  • Teacher
  • Mental health professional 
  • Parent or caregiver
  • Community partner
REACH team members can join a community of practice, which provides spaces for teams to learn, share best practices, and apply new knowledge.  Other significant activities include:
  • Participation in professional learning collaboratives
  • Completion of a trauma-responsive schools needs assessment
  • Development of a trauma-responsive school action plan (teams receive coaching support from the Social-Emotional Learning Hubs to implement their action plan).

More information is available on the Center for Childhood Resilience REACH webpage. Districts interested in learning more can contact the Social-Emotional Learning Hub in their region or email REACH@luriechildrens.org.​

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