Healing-Centered

Creating a Healing-Centered School District

In Fall 2019, Chicago Public Schools, led by the Office of Social Emotional Learning, embarked on a long-term effort to transform CPS into a healing-centered district, recognizing that to achieve our five-year vision, we need to ensure collective wellness for all CPS students, staff, families, caregivers, and communities.
Both trauma and healing are collective experiences. Each of us has a role to play in promoting healing for others and addressing our own healing.
To transform CPS into a more trauma-engaged, culturally-responsive school district means:

Trauma-Engaged

Not only understanding and being aware of trauma, but proactively promoting collective healing as a whole school system while responsively meeting the individual wellness needs of each student.

Culturally-Responsive

Centering equity in healing by promoting a liberatory consciousness, recognizing a broad understanding of trauma (including historic and generational trauma), and affirming all cultures in the healing process.

Healing-Centered Project

The Healing-Centered Project is an opportunity to build on the work of OSEL to provide school communities with restorative and trauma-sensitive supports. It is an opportunity to bring together the many offices that work to ensure the whole school, whole community, and whole child are our focus.

Creating a Healing-Centered District

Chicago Public Schools, with the help of staff, students, families and community organizations, created the Healing-Centered framework as a commitment to our collective wellness.

Contact Us Office of Social & Emotional Learning

Blue Notebook

View the Full Framework

For more information, including examples of what these components might look like for each stakeholder group, view the full Healing-Centered Framework.

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