Building Resilient Trauma-Responsive Schools: Starting with the Care Team

Building Resilient Trauma-Responsive Schools: Starting with the Care Team

In today’s schools, administrators face the daunting challenge of addressing the wide-ranging, deeply personal needs of students impacted by trauma. While the scope of these needs can feel overwhelming, the task is not to fix the myriad of challenges students and families face but to equip students and families with the skills and supports they need to thrive. At the core of this mission is a simple truth: to be responsive to student needs and proactive in building their resilience, schools need the human capital to deliver services effectively.

The Key to Resilience: The Care Team

Resilience in students begins with the assurance that they are not alone. They need to know there is a dedicated team rooting for them, supporting them every step of the way. This “Care Team” serves as the backbone of a trauma-responsive school, working collaboratively to meet students’ diverse needs.

Your Task as an Administrator

The administrator’s role is not to tackle every individual need personally but to build and lead a team that can. This process starts by creating a framework for the Care Team, leveraging available human capital to address needs at varying levels of intensity.

Step 1: Assessing Team Members and Needs

Begin by listing the potential Care Team members available in your school. These may include:

• Social Workers and Counselors: Intake of concern forms, leading social-emotional learning (SEL) supports, and coordinating with outside agencies.

• Student Success Advocates: Supporting academics, social-emotional, and behavioral needs while fostering home-school connections.

• Nurses: Managing physical and medical care and collaborating on 504 or IEP-related service plans.

• Campus Security Monitors: Ensuring safety, mentoring students, and providing behavioral support.

• Clerks or Registrars: Identifying needs during student registration, such as chronic absences or behavior concerns.

• Strategists: Monitoring academic and behavioral progress, developing professional development plans

• Administrators: Identifying necessary resources, securing funding, aligning stakeholders with the vision, tracking success metrics.

Reference Example: At Harmon Elementary, the Care Team included these members and aligned them with the “Report-Respond-Restore” framework to ensure seamless support for students at all levels.

Step 2: Building a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)

Understanding that student needs vary in intensity, the Care Team must provide tiered supports:

• Tier 1: Universal supports, such as school-wide SEL lessons and behavior reflection sheets.

• Tier 2: Targeted small-group interventions for students with moderate needs.

• Tier 3: Intensive, individualized care plans for students requiring the highest level of support.

Action Item: Develop a matrix of services and assign team members to each tier based on their expertise. For example, social workers may lead Tier 3 SEL interventions, while student success advocates focus on Tier 2 supports.

Step 3: Assembling, Training, and Empowering the Team

1. Convene the Team: Schedule an initial meeting to introduce the Care Team framework, clarify roles, and set expectations.

2. Provide Training: Equip the team with training in trauma-informed practices, SEL strategies, and executive functioning skills.

3. Offer Resources and Incentives: Ensure the team has access to materials like CASEL-aligned SEL curricula, behavior reflection templates, and progress monitoring tools. Recognize their efforts through incentives like professional development opportunities or “Team Member of the Month” programs.

Step 4: Establishing a Cyclical Process

Trauma-responsive practices thrive on continual evaluation and refinement. Set a recurring schedule for Care Team meetings (e.g., every six weeks) to:

• Review student progress using success metrics.

• Adjust care plans based on data and team feedback.

• Celebrate progress and identify areas for improvement.

Final Thoughts

Remember, the task is not yours alone. By building a strong Care Team, you create a system where students, staff, and families feel supported and empowered to succeed. Together, through intentional collaboration and a focus on resilience-building, your school can help students thrive, no matter the challenges they face.