Ten years ago, Cobscook launched a bold new initiative- TREE: Transforming Rural Experience in Education. Designed as a practice and research project, the primary aim was to research and develop practices in rural schools that leverage student voice to address trauma and inequity. Over the course of a four-year pilot project, TREE staff, educational researchers, students, teachers, and clinicians brought the project to life in vibrant ways, and researchers documented remarkable improvements in the partner schools involved. The pilot concluded in 2021, and Trauma-Responsive Schooling: Centering Student Voice and Healing (Brown, Biddle & Tappan), which documents the results, was published by Harvard Education Press in 2022. 

With the initial research project complete, we’ve been grappling with the question - what’s next? Those who have followed TREE know, the final year of the four-year pilot coincided with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Amid the unique challenges faced by all partners, Cobscook transferred the TREE program to the Rural Vitality Lab (RVL), an educational research collaboration between the University of Maine and Colby College, to ensure the completion of the project. RVL did just that and continues to share the results of the project through publications and teaching. But we all know there’s more to do. The impacts of trauma and inequity continue to plague schools.

As such, Cobscook Institute and Rural Vitality Lab are delighted to announce that TREE, renamed Trauma-Responsive Equitable Education, has been formally transferred back to Cobscook Institute. Among the first steps toward the next decade of resilience and equity-focused work, Cobscook and RVL are moving forward with the following:

• 1: A research and practice project with Cobscook Experiential Program high school students. During the 2023-24 school year, RVL researchers and Cobscook Institute educators will work with students to create replicable practices that leverage student voice and create more inclusive and connected classrooms. 

• 2: Professional development opportunities for educators, guidance counselors, clinicians, and others who work with children and youth, designed to broadly apply the lessons learned from the pilot project in formal and informal educational settings.

• 3: A summer 2024 conference for educators, guidance counselors, and others, focused on supporting trauma-responsive and equity-centered teaching and learning.

There’s no doubt that the findings from the initial research project have profound implications. Outcomes for students improve when they are invited in as co-creators of their learning environment. We’re excited to move into a new phase, and to engage in a new generation of work to support improved outcomes for youth.