Latin School of Chicago

noting that education and constant communication between team members help. Lost time and missing school work is almost always waived for concussed students. "e sooner a student can let their brain relax, the sooner he or she will heal," says Wright. Wright works with students, families and teachers to create academic accommodations for those upper school students who have suered a concussion. ey can range from taking a test or quiz in a quiet place rather than the classroom, to extended time for tests, to allowing a student to wear sunglasses inside to alleviate light sensitivity. "Students can get a headache just from thinking. Sometimes we give tests one page at a time, or one page a day, or one page in the morning and one in the afternoon, so the student does not become overwhelmed or overdo it." Emotional health also can be compromised for students who suer concussions. For example, a student who cannot tolerate the noise and chaos of the cafeteria might need to eat in a quiet room. is same student might not be able to handle going to the movies or hanging out with his or her boisterous, laughing friends. Social isolation is a real risk. And high-functioning students might also feel inadequate when they realize they cannot keep up with homework and assignments. Wright steps in and refers students who might need assistance to Latin's school counselors. Wright's biggest challenge is helping his students have patience with their recovery. "I wish I could give them their skills back. I can just see it on their faces." Latin's Concussion Task Force In 2015, CLF came to Latin to give a presentation to faculty and parents about concussions. is got Annie Johnson, a second grade teacher at Latin, thinking. Her son wanted to play football at his school, and Johnson wondered what the policy was at Latin. She learned that while there were certain departmental policies in place (health, athletics, academics), none of them cut across all three divisions and the reporting process was inconsistent. In 2016, Randall Dunn, head of school, assigned Johnson to lead the task force, which included 20 other individuals who represented a mix of divisions and disciplines including nurses, athletic directors, athletic trainer, learning specialists, coaches, teachers, counselors and communications. Johnson was happy to take on the role, even though she had no specialized training in or knowledge of concussions. "I kept thinking to myself, 'We're teachers, we love brains, we want them to grow. Why don't I know more about how to protect my students' brains?'" e task force met every month before or after school for 10 months. e result is a unied policy for the entire school that lays out the protocol for when a head injury occurs at school, a concussion recommendation form for doctors to ll out in case school accommodations are needed, a communication ow chart, and the roles of team members (student, parent, nurse, case manager, athletic director/trainers) if a student is diagnosed with a concussion. e policy also outlines Return to Learn and Return to Play procedures. e Return to Learn policy states that the student's case manager "will monitor and regulate the student's academic reentry depending on the restrictions and recommendations of a physician." Under the Return to Play procedure, the student's athletic director or athletic trainer "will monitor and regulate the student's athletic reentry depending on the restrictions and recommendations of a physician." A student cannot return to play unless he or she is without symptoms for 24 hours, is not using medications to help with symptoms, and is attending school full time, without any concussion-related academic accommodations. Latin Leads with Testing For years, Latin's Athletic Department has utilized ImPACT testing as a way of protecting the 300+ athletes in the upper school. ImPACT is a computerized neurocognitive test that takes about 30 minutes to administer. Athletes are baseline tested every two years, typically as freshmen and again as juniors. After a student has been diagnosed with a concussion, ImPACT testing determines if the student is ready to return to play by tracking symptoms and measuring multiple aspects of cognitive functioning, including attention span, working memory, sustained and selective attention time, non-verbal problem-solving and reaction time. "Students who have suered a concussion can retake this test when they feel like they are ready to come back to compete," said Tom Bower, director of athletics at Latin. Although the coaches and trainers have received concussion training every season (fall, winter and spring) since 2010, ImPACT testing is key because it takes the guesswork out of when a student is recovered enough to return to play. Bower thinks the research and information developed over the last several years regarding concussions in athletics is revolutionary. "We know so much more now," he said. "Every year we learn something new. It used to be athletes would be out a few days. Now it's a couple of weeks. I'm guessing the recovery period will probably lengthen." Based on the recommendations of the Concussion Task Force, Latin now also uses the King-Devick concussion test to baseline test all students – not just student-athletes – in grades one through 12. Baseline testing is an important component in the prevention of concussions. No concussion test examines all domains (cognition, balance and vision), but King-Devick is considered the gold "I kept thinking to myself, 'We're teachers, we love brains, we want them to grow. Why don't I know more about how to protect my students' brains?'" – Annie Johnson, second grade teacher 22

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