This award-winning tool is the first of its kind--an evidence-based tool to facilitate interior design renovations and new builds of K-12 schools! It can be used to evaluate the physical space and identify changes that can lower the stress levels of students and staff. The tool is grounded in the Substance and Mental Health Services Administrations' guidance for a trauma-informed approach, the Trauma-informed Design (TiD) Society's framework, and feedback from almost 100 educators, school administrators, and designers across the country.

This project, which was supported by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation and had institutional review board (IRB) approval, brought together educators and designers to bridge the gap in their understanding and areas of expertise and identify design impacts on educational outcomes. The Society partnered with nine schools nationwide, to evaluate their spaces and gather information about when and where students and staff experience the most dysregulation, and used this information to inform the creation of an evaluation tool for schools and designers.

Bridging the Gap

The TiDEvalK12 provides a lens through which users can better understand the relationship between spatial and interior design elements and student experiences and behaviors. In order to achieve trauma-informed design, it is necessary to bridge communication between educators and designers. Both groups bring valuable experience and knowledge, but cannot be fully understood without a common language. The tool provides an opportunity to create greater insight into both common and unique needs of each school and the ways in which designers can help.

Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for K-12 Schools (TiDEvalK12)

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The tool identifies and defines several key domains, and provides users a score in each. This can alert users to areas that might be contributing most significantly to dysregulation within the school. Schools are encouraged to have both, designers and school professionals familiar with the space, complete the tool and engage in conversations about their perceptions and experiences. These observations can inform decisions about the school community and the types of changes that will be most successful.
The Trauma-informed Design Society hypothesizes that evidence-based, trauma-informed designed schools can reduce stress levels of staff and students, resulting in:

Less dysregulation;

A reduction in harsh disciplinary measures; and

Increased learning.

Students should be more able to self-regulate, and would have a place where they can safely do so, reducing the need for discipline measures. Over time, students' academic performance should increase, as they are more able to access the classroom material.
Now that the TiDEvalK12 tool has been developed, we can't wait for schools to apply it to their spaces! We encourage schools to reach out for help in applying the tool and interpreting its results.

Please reach out with any feedback, questions, or concerns about the tool as you apply it in your community. It is our intention to use such feedback to continue refining the instrument over time. Please also stay tuned for an eventual TiDEvalK12 toolkit, which would provide evidence-based design recommendations to address areas of concern identified by the tool.

Eventually, we would also love to partner with one or more schools for a longitudinal study. We would start by collecting baseline data on academic performance and use of school discipline, including removal from the classroom, isolation, detention, physical restraint, suspension, arrest/school security/resource officer involvement, and expulsion. We would then provide an evaluation of their school environment using the TiDEvalK12 tool, and work with the school to help them implement recommended changes. Following the changes, we would follow:

The academic performance of the students, to see if it improves; and

The use of school discipline, to see if it decreases.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, the Trauma-informed Design Society is here to help you create learning spaces that sooth the nervous system in a revolutionary way!

Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for K-12 Schools (TiDEvalK12)

Using the Tool

TiD Society's Hypothesis

Technical Assistance and Consultation Available

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