A "certified trauma safe" school is actually pretty simple. The faculty receives information and training on how to handle kids that have experienced past trauma and the best way to redirect them, or help them when something has triggered a memory of their trauma. For example...my daughter has a very strong "flight or fight" impulse. When she becomes frightened or feels she is not safe, she has in the past walked out of class or hidden in the bathroom. Because her teachers are aware of this type of behavior, they are able to help her sort through the issue and eventually get her back to class. The school she is currently attending has 2 psychologist on staff who have had meetings with me to gather information on her history. They also communicate quarterly with her outside therapist. Public schools are not always open to working with parents of "behavioraly challenged" kids and I have had to fight, fight, fight for this type of assistance for her. They don't always handle things the way I would, but at least they have kept my daughter safe thus far.

The description of your current school does sound like one in which many students would thrive. Most teens would seem to benefit from having caring support staff, including a psychologist, available throughout the day. Therapeutic private schools often have more intensive services available, but unfortunately, due to financial constraints, many public high schools these days seem to "share" a psychologist between multiple schools in a district...
I participate in a couple of parent support forums, including ones where plenty of Texas moms discuss educational offerings, and I've never heard them mention "trauma safe" environments, either. I'll try to point one or two of the Texas parents to this discussion thread, so they can respond for themselves...

I'm from Texas and certified in Special Education. I've never heard of a "Trauma Safe School." I am familiar with the Conroe Independent School District (CISD) and the high schools in the district. There are five major high schools in the district--Conroe High School, Caney Creek, Oak Ridge High School (divided into two campuses--one 9th grade and one 10th-12th grades), The Woodlands College Park High School, and The Woodlands High School (divided into two campuses--one 9th grade campus and one 10th-12th grade campus). There also are a couple of specialized, magnet schools. Conroe, Caney Creek, Oak Ridge, and The Woodlands are four very distinct and different areas, and the high school populations, therefore, are very different from one another; however, they are all large schools, and I wonder how well your daughter would do in a very, very large high school, with student populations in the thousands? I believe, that the Woodlands High School's 10th-12th grade campus has something like three thousand students, maybe more. It's HUGE! Are you going to be living in the city of Conroe?

We haven't really decided what area we would like to be in yet. Alot of it depends on upon which school we feel would better fit our daughter. We are concerned about the size of the High Schools in TX. Our daughter currently attends a high school with approx. 2000 students. We have been looking at information on Caney Creek and Oak Ridge. I believe Oak Ridge showed approx. 1700 students, so we were trying to get more information about that school. Because it's going to be so culturally different than what she is accustomed to, we really want to try and make the best decision possible from clear across the country. Part of the reason we have chosen to relocate is due to the issues we've encountered in our current town. Our daughter was adopted through foster care at a much older age and most of her classmates are aware of this and unfortunately use this as a means of targeting her for being different. We did not know what the town was like socially when we bought our house because we had NO kids at that time. In the past 6 years we have dealt with so much prejudice and judgment that we all just want a fresh start. We feel that if we aren't successful in getting her into the right school, where she can thrive and succeed, we may just be setting her up to fail. No pressure right? If you have any information that point us in the right direction for getting answers to our questions, I would very much appreciate it. Thanks for responding...I figure the best answers come from the parents already there.

O.K. I'm going to be really nosy here...Why are you looking in the area of Texas you are looking in? Is this because of employment? Family? Either you or your husband has lived in this area before? Honestly, you're leaving one of the most politically liberal states in the country to move to the Caney Creek or Conroe, Texas area? Talk about a culture shock! I could DEFINITELY see your moving to certain areas of Austin, Houston, and Dallas, but small town Texas? Really, I've traveled throughout Mass., and small town Mass. is nothing like small town Texas. That's not to say you won't like it. Maybe, you will, but it's going to be a whole new world.

Now, The Woodlands is a planned suburb, so that might be an area you would enjoy more. There will be more people from other areas of the country there. Also, there are some oil companies in that area, so you do get a bit of an international crowd. Not a big one, but some. Oak Ridge is right across the highway from The Woodlands. It's an older community and less expensive than The Woodlands, for the most part. I've heard Oak Ridge jokingly called, "The Friendly Woodlands," because The Woodlands is thought to be a bit snooty, by some people. Knowing people in both areas, I won't agree with that, but I'm telling you because there is kind of that attitude in the areas you're discussing.

The areas you are discussing are quite different economically, with Caney Creek being the poorest (I've made home visits there, and I was shocked at the level of poverty in some areas of Caney Creek, but that's not to say the whole area is this way, for it most certainly isn't), Conroe being next (though there is every range of wealth in Conroe), Oak Ridge being next (very middle class), and The Woodlands being next (for the most part, the people who live in The Woodlands are middle class to extremely wealthy, with a number of multi-million dollar homes in the area).

I don't know you or anything about you, but if you haven't been to the area of Texas you are discussing, I strongly suggest going there and spending a couple weeks traveling around, eating in the restaurants, talking to people, etc., and basing which area you move into on which area you like and would be the most comfortable living in. That, of course, should include which school you would like your daughter to attend, but I wouldn't make that the #1 reason for picking between the four areas mentioned because they are so very different economically, socially, and culturally.

I am originally from the south. I grew up in Louisiana, and spent a few years in Houston after I divorced. My husband is originally from Mass, as is my daughter. However, we have chosen to raise our daughter with many of the values I was raised with, hence I believe may be one of our biggest problems. My daughter was diagnosed with Attachment Disorder due to the number of years she was in foster care and the number of placements she had. We have worked VERY hard to establish a bond and level of trust with her over the last 6 years. I had a school psych tell me this year at the high school that our daughter should NOT be allowed to call me or my husband when she was in a moment of crisis. I am tired of school faculty trying to tell me how to raise my child and having no basic understanding of what it is we are trying to accomplish with her. Now I know that I am not going to get this in other schools in different areas, but at least I know there is a certain level of respect for being a parent in other parts of the country. My daughter was sexually assaulted at school by another student whose mother also happened to be a teacher there. We were strongly encourage to not press criminal charges because it was a "he said, she said" scenario, even though the kid admitted to everything! At minimum it was sexual harassment and should have resulted in disciplinary action, and yet nothing was done. This is just one small example of what we have had to deal with in our school system. Frustrating to say the least. Anyway, all of my family is in Texas (Corpus and College Station) and I want to be near them. My husband is actually the one who chose Conroe because he is ready for something different as well. He wants small town, my daughter wants a farm. (grin) We know that we have a lot of challenges ahead of us, but have met them and won before. The information you have given us about all of the towns helps tremendously and at least lets me know that we were heading in the right direction as far as areas go. The town we currently live in is considered wealthy and is very snooty and not very welcoming. We are not wealthy and not snooty in the least. Unfortunately due to finances at the moment we do not have the luxury of spending any time down there before moving. Luckily our house is worth more than what we bought it for and will make moving to TX financially possible when it sells. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you again for all of your information. It will definitely help tremendously.

You have family in College Station, and you want to live on a farm? I would check out that area, then. Have you visited that area? It's conservative, like you want, but Texas A & M is there, so there's more to do, if you choose to leave the farm :). Yeah, I'd check out the area from College Station to Brennan. Lots of nice farms and ranches, where small town life and conservative values rule; yet, close enough to big cities (this area sits between Houston and Austin, with both cities being only an hour-and-a-half to two hours away) to escape or have a change of pace. Another area you might want to check out that is near the Conroe area is Huntsville. It's a small town with beautiful farms on the outskirts of it. Of course, the prison is there, and it's one of the major employers. The other major employer is Sam Houston State University, so there are things to do. Again, Huntsville is in the general area you are discussing.

Good luck in your search.

Conroe Independent School District (CISD) has a long history of not reporting crimes involving violence to police. The police relayed to me that this is because the school administrators are given incentives (bonuses) when there are few reported incidents of violence. To achieve that goal, they simply often don't report them (assaults, etc.). Incredible as it sounds, I was told by an officer that "An assistant principal would be looked down upon by the principal and others if he/she reported an assault to the police." This explains why my son was visciously attacked (kicked and kneed full force in the head repeatedly) in front of dozens of students in the hallway, with countless new costly cameras (apparently unwatched) recording the incident, and yet not only did the school not call the police, they told me they could not file charges (hard to believe), that it was "up to the parents to file charges." Worse, they sent the violent assaultor home ON THE BUS that day, per usual. They are firm on their zero-tolerance policy, so my son could not even defend himself, with his life in danger.

It leaves the kids in a horrible position, not able to defend themselves, and with kids with a violent criminal record such as this kid, who was already on probation, roaming the schools unchecked. It's a shame. And it goes on in The Woodlands, in CISD. It changed our lives forever. I'd asked what they planned to do to protect my son, and the only thing the AP said was, "Well, the boy (17 y.o.) says he's sorry." Needless to say, I would not allow my son to return to the school after that day. Safety at CISD is a farce.