Every Interaction Matters: Building Trauma Sensitive Schools

A school is made up of much more than just classrooms and teachers. From the moment a student steps onto a school bus to the time they are dismissed for the day, they encounter teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, family service coordinators, lunch providers, recess staff, librarians, custodial teams, and countless other adults.

“Each of those interactions is an opportunity to help a child feel supported and connected,” says Allison Mitchell, Clinical Therapist and Trainer at Wellpoint Care Network.

That is one of the many reasons that Trauma Sensitive Schools (TSS) training can be valuable for everyone involved in a school setting.

“There’s no limit to the benefits of being trauma-informed,” adds Mitchell. “One of the biggest things that a child’s brain needs in order to become more resilient is support from positive, regulated, caring adults. Every person has the opportunity to make a difference.”

Especially for students who have experienced developmental trauma, school can often be a challenging environment.

“Developmental trauma is very common, and it impacts behavior,” Mitchell says. “Becoming trauma-informed helps school staff understand that behavior is often a form of communication.”

That shift in perspective can change the way adults respond.

Instead of asking, ‘What’s wrong with this student?’ a trauma-sensitive approach encourages staff to consider, ‘What is this student communicating, and what might they need from me right now?’

Mitchell recently explained this concept to more than 100 school lunch providers at an annual training day that our partner Centers for Independence (CFI) provides for their customers before the school year starts. The trauma-informed session was intentionally designed for people who may not consider themselves educators, but who interact with children every day.

“The goal was really to introduce tools for being more supportive and healing,” says Mitchell. “And to be inspired that you can be one of those caring adults that helps a child become more resilient, that helps them heal, that helps buffer the effects of trauma.”

The response reinforced the value of bringing trauma-sensitive practices beyond the classroom. One participant shared: “I’m the Wellness and Nutrition Liaison at our school. This was such a sweet and thoughtful addition to the training.”

Another participant reflected on the importance of remembering that everyone may be carrying something unseen: “We need to remember someone always has something going on personally and that sometimes we need to step back and think about how we sound.”

For a child who has experienced trauma, having multiple adults who understand and respond to their needs can make a meaningful difference.

“For every person that is able to view that child differently and see them as a whole child, the more people that can provide that positive, regulated state and the more likely that child’s brain is going to heal,” adds Mitchell.

And those moments don’t have to be long.

“Every interaction matters, it doesn’t matter if it’s two hours or two minutes,” says Mitchell.

Wellpoint Care Network offers customized packages designed to meet the needs of your school or district, including Trauma Sensitive Schools training, school-based mental health, consultation, and more. Learn how we can partner to help students thrive.