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Faculty and staff from throughout Polk County Schools spent part of a recent workday hearing from an expert on dealing with the social and emotional needs of students.

Educator and author Cheryl Fuller addressed the gathering of Polk County Schools personnel held at Polk County High School. Fuller has spent more than three decades working in education and is certified in a number of areas relating to child trauma and social and emotional support of children and teens.

Fuller shared details of her own life, filled with traumatic events in her childhood, and used that to help offer lessons and best practices that Polk County educators can adopt as they work to support local students.

Polk County Community Foundation provided funding for the event.

“Polk County Schools continues to work toward being a trauma-informed district and to provide perspective and tools for our educators and staff in supporting students who have experienced trauma,” said Polk County Schools Superintendent Aaron Greene.

“Providing professional development from a speaker of Cheryl Fuller’s caliber helps give perspective and tools that can help us better engage with our students and each other. We offer our thanks to the Polk County Community Foundation for sponsoring the training, to Cheryl Fuller for her outstanding presentation and work, and to our staff for their willingness to learn and grow to help our students.”