When the Eaton fire began on the evening of Jan, 7, no one in Pasadena Unified School District could have predicted how much damage it would do.

After 24 days, the fire had been contained, but the devastation was immense. Eighteen people had lost their lives, around 10,000 buildings in the area were destroyed, including homes and schools, and around 10,000 of the district’s students were affected, along with staff and families.

Child development experts, including those from our center, emphasize that the impact of such an event on children cannot be underestimated.

The students of PUSD continue to experience emotional dysregulation, sleep issues and separation anxiety two months after the wildfires began. Their reactions deeply affect their ability to maintain regular school attendance and re-engage in classroom learning.

Research shows that educators can play a crucial role in helping their students process trauma and heal. In order to remove emotional barriers to school attendance and to restore a stable learning environment, every school leader should be trained in psychological first aid, and PUSD offers an exceptional example of enhancing teacher training in this way.

In the wake of the fires, with five schools destroyed and their community in shock, leaders at PUSD took a deep breath and began the transition from acute safety and survival measures to the long journey of psychological recovery. Now, as the district welcomes students back, it is relying on a proven psychological first aid framework developed specifically for teachers and other school staff: Psychological First Aid for Educators (PFA-TEACH).

PFA-TEACH was developed by experts in crisis response and educators in an effort to address the needs of students, educators, and schools after a crisis.

It is an evidence-informed, step-by-step process for applying psychological first aid in school settings. The goal of the framework is to help students work through their reactions to thoughts and feelings that are barriers to attendance.

The power of trauma-informed leadership is important.

For many PUSD families, the Eaton fire meant not just temporary evacuation but life-altering upheaval. For students, the immediate emotional toll has been compounded by the disruption of their daily routines and a lingering sense of insecurity.

PFA-TEACH has been one important piece of the district’s comprehensive approach to address this upheaval.

PUSD leaders have long recognized the importance of embedding trauma-informed practices into daily school life, allowing community members to rise to difficult moments and support each other.

This foundational work also allowed PUSD to establish long-term relationships with partners who they were able to call on in the midst of the crisis.

For example, in January, in response to the Eaton fire, the Center for Safe and Resilient Schools and Workplaces provided rapid training in PFA-TEACH to refresh mental health staff on the intervention and train new staff in the model so that the entire mental health workforce was ready to welcome students back to school and support their immediate needs effectively as a unit.

It is so important to build resilience in the face of crisis,.

Recovery from a disaster like the Eaton fire will take time. But thanks to PUSD’s commitment to effective trauma support, students and families are not facing this process alone. PUSD’s story sets a powerful example for us all: Schools are pillars of community healing as well as places of learning.

Adversity will continue to strike, but if we use effective defenses against it, we can ensure that every classroom offers a space to heal, grow and thrive.

Marleen Wong is co-founder and CEO of the Center for Safe and Resilient Schools and Workplaces. Lara Choulakian is a licensed clinical social worker who manages THRIVE: School Mental Health, a program that serves preK-12 students in the Pasadena Unified School District.