COMPTON, Calif. — At Bridges Preparatory Academy in Compton, the first lesson every day is social-emotional learning, it’s eighth grader Brisa Rubio’s favorite class.

“What are some words of wisdom you would share with your fellow peers on how to be prepared for test-taking?” asked Brisa, during a recent class as she read a prompt on an assignment.

Some kids around her raised their hands to suggest some words.

SEL lessons try to help kids become more emotionally aware and gives them tools for self-control. SEL is just one of the charter school’s core elements of their trauma-informed curriculum. That’s because, according to a school survey, every child at Bridges Preparatory Academy has experienced trauma.

“I struggled with some emotional things in the past, especially after quarantine,” Brisa said.

The CDC has identified between 10 and 20 types of Adverse Childhood Experiences ranging from physical, sexual and verbal abuse, to neglect, divorce and even poverty. For Ariel Jackson, it’s been racism.

“Very mistreated...just because of my skin color,” Ariel said.

But with an average counselor to student ratio of 600 to 1 at most California public schools, getting help to deal with those issues was hard.

“Our counselors, we didn’t really have any, and if we did, it was really difficult to find them, and it was really difficult for us to go out and get the help that we needed,” Brisa said.

That’s why Alejandro Gómez, a psychologist and teacher, decided to open the trauma-informed school.

“I saw here, in the Compton community, students that constantly came to class, but they just weren’t here. Physically they were here, but mentally they weren’t.”

So, to make sure they are ready to absorb things like math and science, the school prioritizes the kids’ mental health by providing them with extra support through social-emotional learning, after school tutoring, a 150 to 1 student to counselor ratio and one-on-one check-ins.

“It’s something as simple as hearing a gunshot, or trying to get home and seeing someone get mugged or robbed, here in Compton, many kids have experienced that, so we want to make sure that doesn’t continue growing with them by the time they get to an older age where it’s going to affect them,” Gómez said.

After all, kids who have experienced trauma are more likely to drop out of school or even end up in prison, according to the CDC. An estimated 97% of the U.S. inmate population has experienced childhood trauma, according to the compassion prison project. And while dozens of local schools are shutting down from a lack of students, Bridges Prep already has a waiting list for next year. School officials say it shows the need. Students say the school has changed them for the better.

“Having other people who have experienced the same kinds of traumas, that has really helped me because I can relate to them and understand most likely how they feel,” Brisa said.

And having that kind of mental support means she can focus on tackling the rest of her day.