The Iterative Process of Developing a School-Based Intervention to Take Actions Against Racism

Abstract

Racism threatens the mental and physical health of students of color and may lead to re-occurring harm without intervention. We developed ‘Actions Against Racism’ professional development trainings using a trauma-informed racial socialization lens to provide educators with proactive strategies to disrupt the negative psychosocial developmental outcomes associated with racism. This paper describes the iterative process of developing this intervention through four phases over the course of four years. The primary takeaway from this work is that developing and implementing interventions to disrupt racism and promote healing must take into account the implementation context, with consideration to balancing the urgency of supporting students amidst the necessity of taking time to build trust and authentic commitment to disrupting racism among staff.