Intervention specialists trained in trauma-informed care are becoming increasingly important in Chesterfield’s school system, Lane said.

“We’re hearing of a lot of students, especially those new to our country, that are coming to us with some significant issues as they transition into the community, frankly with some traumatic experiences in their past,” he said.

“We’re hearing from ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers, that really trauma-informed care is needed to support behavior work in our school division.”

An added six social workers would mean that every Chesterfield building could have a psychologist or social worker in the school every other day.

Samantha Hollins, Chesterfield’s director of special education, said the added staff members would blend work between addressing teacher responses to student behavior as well as laying down consistent behavior expectations for students.

“Who is responsible to make sure that we aren’t just adding things on top of things that aren’t going well?” School Board member Carrie E. Coyner asked during a Feb. 14 discussion on the topic. “Clearly, we are where we are today because not everything has been effective, and we’re hoping that these tools are.”