Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door

This book explores how educational institutions have failed to recognize and effectively address the symptoms of trauma in students of all ages. Given the prevalence of traumatic events in our world, Gross argues that it is time for educational institutions and those who work within them to change their approaches and responses to traumatic symptoms that manifest in students in schools and colleges. These changes can alter how and what we teach, how we train teachers, how we structure our calendars and create our schedules, how we address student behavior and disciplinary issues, and how we design our physical space. Drawing on real-life examples and scenarios that will be familiar to educators, this resource provides concrete suggestions to assist institutions in becoming trauma-responsive environments, including replicable macro and micro changes.

Book Features:

• Focuses on trauma within the early childhood–adult educational pipeline.
• Explains how trauma is often cumulative, with recent traumatic events often triggering a revival of traumatic symptomology from decades ago.
• Provides clarifications of currently used terms and scoring systems and offers new and alternative approaches to identifying and remediating trauma.
• Includes visual images to augment the descriptions in the text.

“"Gross has simplified one of the most complex systemic challenges of our times: to be intentionally trauma-responsive and change the course of students' lives by changing the educational system." --Teachers College Record”

"Gross has simplified one of the most complex systemic challenges of our times: to be intentionally trauma-responsive and change the course of students' lives by changing the educational system."

--Teachers College Record

"Drawing on real-life examples and scenarios that will be familiar to educators, Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door provides concrete suggestions to assist institutions in becoming trauma-responsive environments, including replicable macro- and microchanges."

--Sir Read a Lot

Karen Gross is an author and educator as well as an advisor and consultant to nonprofit schools, organizations, and governments; instructor of continuing education at Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work; visiting professor at Bennington College; former president of Southern Vermont College; former senior policy advisor to the United States Department of Education; and author of the sidequel, Breakaway Learners: Strategies for Post-Secondary Success with At-Risk Students and the trauma-sensitive children's book series, Lady Lucy's Quest. Visit the Karen's website at

This book explores how educational institutions have failed to recognize and effectively address the symptoms of trauma in students of all ages. Given the prevalence of traumatic events in our world, Gross argues that it is time for educational institutions and those who work within them to change their approaches and responses to traumatic symptoms that manifest in students in schools and colleges. These changes can alter how and what we teach, how we train teachers, how we structure our calendars and create our schedules, how we address student behavior and disciplinary issues, and how we design our physical space. Drawing on real-life examples and scenarios that will be familiar to educators, this resource provides concrete suggestions to assist institutions in becoming trauma-responsive environments, including replicable macro- and microchanges. Book Features: Focuses on trauma within the early childhood-adult educational pipeline. Explains how trauma is often cumulative, with recent traumatic events often triggering a revival of traumatic symptomology from decades ago. Provides clarifications of currently used terms and scoring systems and offers new and alternative approaches to identifying and ameliorating trauma. Includes visual images to augment the descriptions in the text.

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