WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL, WHO IS THINKING ABOUT THE EFFECT ON OUR KIDS IN SCHOOL?
TRAGIC EVENT: In Erie, Pennsylvania, a 29 yr old man shot and killed a 27 yr old woman and their two daughters (ages 4 and 7) in his home before killing himself.
Who in Erie County has considered the effects of these deaths upon their fellow school children? Who in a community coordinates with schools when a tragedy outside of school occurs? What about the students who know the young girls that were killed? Reacting to a community tragedy and determining the impact upon your student population immediately puts a school leadership team into the RECOVERY PHASE of the Emergency Management Process.
Post Tragedy Intervention For a School /School District:
- Designate someone to track incidents which occur that could effect our young students.
- Have that designee discuss the incident with school leadership and the guidance department and school psychologist to develop a strategy for crisis counseling.
- Identify and solicit for students effected by the tragedy to determine the scale and scope
- Review the resources available for counseling those students designated as requiring counseling.
- Develop counseling courses of action:
- Individual student counseling
- Group or class counseling
- Class Discussion with scripted counseling points
- School Announcement or Assembly
- Memorial Service