Coalition for Compassionate Schools

What Coalition for Compassionate Schools does

Coalition for Compassionate Schools is a New Orleans-based nonprofit founded in 2014 (originally as the New Orleans Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Collaborative and rebranded in 2021) that builds the capacity of K-12 schools to implement trauma-informed, healing-centered practices. It operates as an 8-member multi-agency coalition spanning Tulane University, the New Orleans Health Department, NOLA Public Schools, Children's Bureau of New Orleans, Louisiana Public Health Institute, Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies, Covenant House, and Project Fleur-de-lis (Mercy Family Center). Its primary customers are K-12 charter and district schools in the Greater New Orleans area, with secondary reach to individual educators and CMOs nationally through fee-based professional development.

The Coalition's core technology is its Trauma-Informed Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (TI-MTSS) framework, developed through a National Institute of Justice-funded research study (Safe Schools NOLA, 2016-2020) and refined via subsequent Learning Collaborative (2015-2019) and Training of Trainers (2020-2024) implementations. The framework operationalizes ten implementation drivers including universal behavioral health screening, peer support specialist teams, trauma stewardship planning, crisis response, and youth participatory action research. Supporting assets include a proprietary toolkit of instruments (Organizational Readiness Assessment, Walkthrough Checklist, Classroom Observation Tool, Policy & Practices Review Checklist, Trauma Stewardship Plan), a School Behavioral Health Assessment, and three differentiated 8-module online training curricula (Teacher/Paraeducator, Mid-Level Leader, School/District Leader) delivered asynchronously, via consultation, or through Professional Learning Communities.

The Coalition operates a hybrid revenue model anchored on competitive grant funding from federal agencies (NIJ, DOJ/Bureau of Justice Assistance), regional foundations (United Way of Southeast Louisiana, Baptist Community Ministries, LoveTruth Foundation), with fee-based revenue from online modular training, paid speaking engagements, and Targeted Implementation Support & Consultation (TISC) services. TISP is offered at no cost to 2-3 selected Greater New Orleans partner schools annually; cumulative reach is approximately 15 unique schools and ~3,000 students through the ToT pipeline.

Name

Coalition for Compassionate Schools

Legal name

Coalition for Compassionate Schools

Website

https://cforcs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Coalition for Compassionate Schools is a New Orleans-based nonprofit coalition that builds K-12 school capacity to implement trauma-informed, healing-centered practices through its TI-MTSS framework, online modular training, and Training of Trainers programs, serving Greater New Orleans schools primarily and individual educators nationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN), School Climate, Culture & Belonging Initiatives (DEI-Aligned) (EDAKAMAM)

Keywords

• Trauma-informed education
• School professional development
• K-12 behavioral health
• Educator training services
• Social-emotional learning

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding (Federal, State, Local): Primary revenue stream consists of grants from federal agencies (National Institute of Justice funded Safe Schools NOLA study 2016-2020; Department of Justice funded Training of Trainers Project 2018-2021), state/local United Way of Southeast Louisiana, and Baptist Community Ministries grants. These grants support the Coalition's programs, staff, and partner schools.
2. Professional Development Training Fees: Fee-based online modular training programs and Professional Learning Communities offered to educators and school leaders. The organization offers consultation-based and PLC-based training tracks with pricing determined per engagement. Speaking engagements are also offered on a fee basis nationally, in-person or virtually.
3. Strategic Planning and Consultation Services: Targeted Implementation Support & Consultation (TISC) program providing monthly touchpoints with school teams including consultations, observations, and/or trainings. Programming is available to schools not yet ready for the full Trauma-Informed Schools Project.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Coalition for Compassionate Schools is a New Orleans-based non-profit coalition that builds the capacity of schools, students, and parents to implement trauma-informed, healing-centered practices. It sells professional development, training, consultation, and research-based tools (such as TISP, TISC, online modular training, the Trauma-Informed Schools Toolkit, School Behavioral Health Assessment, and Mapping/Data Archiving) to schools, charter management organizations, districts, and individual educators.

Product overview

The Coalition for Compassionate Schools operates as a multi-faceted educational organization offering a portfolio of programs and services centered on trauma-informed, healing-centered practices in schools. The core offerings include the Trauma-Informed Schools Project (TISP) providing a comprehensive TI-MTSS framework, Targeted Implementation Support & Consultation (TISC) for schools in planning phases, and Online Modular Training with three role-based pathways. Additional programs include Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR/Little Researchers of Creative Change), the Training of Trainers Project, and Safe Schools NOLA. Supporting products include the Trauma-Informed Schools Toolkit, School Behavioral Health Assessment, Mapping Project, Data Archiving services, and a suite of implementation tools organized by exploration, installation, and implementation stages. The organization evolved from the New Orleans Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Collaborative and rebranded as Coalition for Compassionate Schools in 2021.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trauma-Informed Schools Program (TISP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Compared to baseline, partner schools showed increased educator capacity in knowledge of and facility with trauma-informed classroom practices to support student well-being.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered primary, supporting and core.

• Community Academies of New Orleans (CANO)primaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Two schools from Community Academies of New Orleans — Foundation Preparatory Academy and Esperanza Academy — are 2024-2025 TISP partner schools receiving the Coalition's TI-MTSS framework implementation support.
• KIPP New OrleansprimaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Two KIPP New Orleans schools — KIPP Leadership Primary and KIPP Leadership Academy — are 2024-2025 TISP partner schools. KIPP schools have participated in multiple Coalition programs including ToT and Learning Collaborative over the years.
• Edible Schoolyard NYCsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The 2023-2024 Little ROCCs training for adult practitioners was incorporated into Edible Schoolyard's professional development sequence at the opening of the 2024-2025 school year.
• Beloved CommunitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Beloved Community was consulted to conduct trainings for Learning Collaborative members to ensure internal processes reflected equity and anti-racism (2018). Beloved Community also provided consultation to partner schools to enhance knowledge and skills in racial equity within a trauma-informed framework (2018-19). Dr. Allisyn Swift was a Project Director with Beloved Community before becoming Coalition Executive Director.
• New Orleans Youth Alliance (NOYA)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021NOYA and the Coalition co-fund the Trauma-Informed Youth Programs Coordinator position (held by Cia Blackstock), who co-leads the Core Trauma Informed Schools Implementation Team advancing equitable, healing-centered practices in K-8 schools.
• UC Berkeley YPAR HubsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The Coalition utilizes UC Berkeley's YPAR Hub as a free online resource curriculum for implementing Youth Participatory Action Research in its Little Researchers of Creative Change program.
• Community Futures, Community Lore (UC Davis)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The Coalition utilizes the Community Futures, Community Lore free online curriculum from UC Davis as a resource for its YPAR programming.
• NOLA Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018A representative from NOLA Public Schools joined the Learning Collaborative in 2018. Dr. Kelli Jordan (Chief School Support and Improvement Officer) serves as the Coalition member representative. Tanisha Moore serves as Director of Behavioral Health for NOLA Public Schools. NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for New Orleans and its charter school network.
• Institute of Women & Ethnic StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015The Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies joined the Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Collaborative in 2015. Angela L. Lockley (Sr. Program Manager of Community Engagement) represents the Institute on the Coalition. The Institute contributed to the Coalition's focus on racial equity and anti-racism practices within trauma-informed frameworks.
• Children's Bureau of New OrleanscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Children's Bureau of New Orleans is a founding member organization of the Coalition. Dr. Berre Burch serves as the Coalition member representative, directing Project LAST which provides no-cost, high-quality mental health services to children and adolescents in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. The Coalition utilizes Children's Bureau clinicians in the ToT program (Year 2) as embedded clinicians providing evidence-based, trauma-focused treatments to students with the most intensive needs.
• Tulane UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Tulane University is a founding member organization of the Coalition. Dr. Stacy Overstreet (Professor, Department of Psychology) is a founding member of the Coalition and serves as Senior Advisor. Dr. Courtney Baker (Associate Professor, Department of Psychology) serves on the Coalition staff. Tulane provides research infrastructure, professor involvement, and undergraduate student support for YPAR programming. The Safe Schools NOLA project was conducted with Tulane researchers.
• New Orleans Health DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014New Orleans Health Department assembled the Youth Mental Health workgroup in 2012 that was the precursor to the Coalition. Travers Kurr (Manager of Behavioral Health Programs) serves as the Coalition member representative. The Health Department oversees community-based behavioral health programs including LEAD Initiative, Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit, and Sobering Center. The Health Department also conducted the School Behavioral Health Survey from 2012-2020.
• Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Louisiana Public Health Institute is a founding member organization of the Coalition. LPHI contributed to the multi-agency collaborative from its inception. Former representatives have included Kristie Bardell and Alpha Gebrie.
• Covenant HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Covenant House was a member of the original multi-agency collaborative that coalesced as the New Orleans Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Collaborative in 2014. Covenant House provides services to homeless youth and contributed crisis response and trauma-focused services in schools.
• Project Fleur-de-lis, Mercy Family CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Project Fleur-de-lis (PFDL) is a member organization of the Coalition. Laura Danna (LCSW-BACS) serves as Project Director of PFDL, providing intermediate and long-term school-based mental health services to over 60 New Orleans area schools. PFDL provides trauma stewardship support to school-based mental health and culture team members as part of ToT programming. PFDL staff are certified trainers in CBITS (Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Turnaround for Children: National nonprofit that translates neuroscientific and trauma research into tools, routines, and systems for K-12 schools. Directly comparable to CCS in its mission to build educator capacity and whole-school approaches supporting students exposed to trauma and adversity.
• Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility: Nonprofit providing SEL and restorative practices professional development for K-12 schools. Directly comparable to CCS as a school-based SEL/equity training provider, though focused more on classroom-level restorative practices than multi-tiered trauma systems.
• National Center for School Mental Health: Policy and implementation center at University of Maryland focused on advancing school mental health systems. Comparable to CCS's School Behavioral Health Assessment and systems-level advocacy work, with a stronger research-to-policy orientation and broader national scope.
• Center for Community Resilience: George Washington University-affiliated initiative addressing childhood trauma through community and school-based partnerships. Comparable to CCS in trauma-and-school-systems focus, with stronger policy/clinical orientation and similar emphasis on multi-sector coalitions.

Broad incumbents

• Committee for Children: Larger, established nonprofit delivering SEL curricula (Second Step) used widely in K-12 schools. Comparable to CCS in targeting school-based SEL and trauma-informed outcomes, but operates at significantly greater scale with a more productized curriculum business model.
• Healthy Schools Campaign: National nonprofit advocating for healthy school environments, including school mental health and SEL. Comparable to CCS in engaging schools on student wellbeing, but operates more at policy and systems-advocacy level rather than direct implementation.
• Panorama Education: EdTech platform providing SEL surveys, PBIS tools, and student wellbeing dashboards used by K-12 districts. Comparable to CCS's School Behavioral Health Assessment in measurement focus, but operates as a scaled commercial platform rather than a nonprofit service model.
• Facing History and Ourselves: National nonprofit providing professional development for educators on history, identity, equity, and trauma-informed pedagogy. Comparable to CCS's role-based training pathways, with a more established brand and deeper integration into social studies and humanities curricula.
• National Council for Mental Wellbeing: Large membership and advocacy organization advancing mental health and substance use services, including school-based programs. Comparable to CCS's community-mental-health focus, though broader in scope and oriented toward systemic policy and provider capacity.

Regional players

• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL): Leading research and advocacy organization defining the SEL field nationally with district and school frameworks. While not a direct nonprofit peer, CASEL's framework is the de facto standard for school SEL and trauma-informed work and serves as a comparable organization whose district collaborations overlap with CCS's.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CoalitionforCS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coalition-for-compassionate-schools
• Instagraminstagram.com/coalitionforcs

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Coalition for Compassionate Schools