Trojans CARE (Creating A Responsive Environment)

Trojans CARE (Creating A Responsive Environment) is Jenks Public Schools’ broad-based approach to addressing the needs of students who have experienced trauma and establishing positive and effective learning environments in classrooms across the district.  Trojans CARE leverages partnerships with community agencies to provide embedded therapeutic services, provides professional development focused on the impact of trauma and effective trauma-informed classroom practices, and encourages students to live out the district’s core values through a variety of leadership development opportunities and an emphasis on character development.

Community Partners

• The University of Tulsa Institute of Trauma Adversity and Injustice (TITAN)
• Family and Children’s Services
• Counseling and Recovery Services of Oklahoma
• CREOKS Behavioral Health Services
• Gilead Counseling Services, LLC

Professional Development

Trojans CARE (Creating A Responsive Environment) was developed during a district-wide study of the impact of trauma on learning facilitated by representatives from the University of Tulsa Institute of Trauma Adversity and Injustice (TITAN).   Following this initial study, the district identified a two-pronged approach to professional development. Teachers at the elementary and intermediate level are trained in the Responsive Classroom Model, while teachers at the middle school and high school level participate in AVID Culturally-Responsive Teaching training.

In a three-year longitudinal study (2008-2011) conducted by the University of Virginia Curry School of Education, research showed that the Responsive Classroom Model is associated with higher academic achievement, improved teacher-student interactions, and higher quality instruction. Responsive Classroom 

Jenks Public Schools was one of the first districts in Oklahoma to implement AVID, a college-readiness program focused on supporting students without a family history of college-going. Beginning at Jenks Freshman Academy and High School in 2006, the Jenks AVID Program was the first program in the state located at a comprehensive public high school. In 2015, the program expanded to serve students at Jenks Middle School.  One of the ways in which AVID promotes effective instruction and acts as a catalyst for systemic reform and change is through its Culturally Relevant Teaching:Transforming Educators strand. This professional development offering provides a framework of effective methodologies that validate the culture of all students in the classroom and on the campus. The culturally-relevant strategies are designed to enhance the curriculum and make relevant learning connections to increase subject-matter comprehension. The AVID Difference

Focus on Core Values and Leadership Development

Students learn to live out the Jenks Public Schools core values through classroom guidance lessons, character education initiatives, specialized site-based leadership development programs, and co-curricular activities. 

Our core values are

• Compassion
• Courage
• Inclusiveness
• Integrity
• Perseverance
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Self-Discipline
• Sportsmanship
• Teamwork

Trojans CARE works because as Jenks Trojans, we care.  The district-wide focus on creating a responsive environment in our classrooms, at our schools, and on our playing fields helps us make the desired outcomes of this initiative a reality.  Through Trojans CARE, Jenks Public Schools has increased our focus on the development of the whole child and deepened the culture of empathy in our district.