John Thompson describes a professional development session he attended with other educators in Oklahoma that offered helpful advice about helping students overcome trauma. But he then discusses the real world of students who are exposed to murder and violence, and the good advice seems painfully inadequate. What is needed? More counselors, social workers, psychologists, more resources in schools that are not available now to support students who have had traumatic experiences.
Good advice is cheap. Resources to confront trauma are dear and unavailable.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you for this insightful post. It brought tears to my eyes as I recalled many of the traumatizing events that my ELLs revealed to me over the years. We cannot only educate one part of the child. We must address the needs of the whole child in order to be impactful. Sometimes it means we just listen and empathize, and other times we must take action. By building a relationship with students, we can allow them to express what is really bothering them.
Troubled students need to know that they can trust the adult in charge to be a support. When students know they can trust, they will seek time out of class to talk to a caring adult. I was fortunate that my district had social workers and second language liaisons that could reach out to families. None of this is possible without building a trusting relationship with students.
Fortunately, most of my traumatized students eventually overcame their problems through the support they received. Our students are so much more than their test scores, and they need so much more than a computer with software. If schools fail to understand this, students’ problems will continue to snowball and spill into society at large.