Maria White, principal of Milbridge Elementary, said that a critically important cornerstone of the TREE model “is that they are providing the mental health supports to help meet even more needs here.” Kandi Robertson is TREE's mental health provider there.

“TREE is making waves in the trauma-informed school space with its asset-based approach and particularly its development of student-empowered social-emotional learning. The hope that is created when teachers see students as people with agency and the ability to make meaningful choices about their lives and learning is incredible.”

Amy Wooliever is the superintendent of a small, rural district in  California. When Amy met the TREE team and started learning about Washington County and TREE’s goals toward re-envisioning rural education through trauma-sensitive approaches, she recognized an immediate kinship between the two communities.