December 17, 2012
Dear Washington Central Families:
Our thoughts and hearts are with the children, families and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. This tragedy has impacted the entire nation. No words can describe the sorrow and heartache echoing across Connecticut and our country.
Following such an extreme act of school violence, I wanted to communicate to you that nothing is more important to the Washington Central Leadership Team than the safety of your children and our staff. I remind you that all of our schools have emergency management plans in place which we routinely review and practice.
In addition to our concerns about the physical safety of our students, we are just as concerned about how the children will respond to hearing this news about the Newtown tragedy. We know that the best thing we can do to help our students feel safe is to keep to the normal schedules and routines of the school day. We know that students may have questions about what has happened, and we will process their questions with developmentally appropriate responses. Our principals have worked with the crisis team and the staff at each school to be alert and ready to support students who may have questions and concerns about the incident.
For information about processing traumatic events with your own children, please see the Vermont Department of Mental Health resource page at http://mentalhealth.vermont.gov/node/1289.
For your convenience there are some helpful tips following this letter. Also, please do not hesitate to contact your son/daughter's school principal or school counselor if you have questions or need support.
Thank you for helping all of our children though this difficult situation.
Sincerely,
William Kimball
Superintendent
Helping Children Cope After a School Shooting
In response to a school shooting tragedy, many children may have questions and concerns. The ICHOC offers the following suggestions to help guide parents, teachers, and caring adults to best support children who may be grieving, concerned, or troubled by the school shooting:
Be Supportive
Children will benefit greatly from support and caring expressed by the adults in their lives. Create an environment in your home or classroom that encourages respect for each other’s feelings and fears, and allows for a supportive, healing environment.
Be Available
Let children know that you are available to talk with them.
Let children ask questions.
It is ok if you do not have answers to all the questions. It is ok to let your child know that you do not have the answer but that you will try and find out.
Be Caring
Let children know about the support being provided to students, friends, and families of the victims.
Be aware of children who may have experienced a previous trauma and may be more vulnerable to experiencing prolonged or intense reactions and will need extra support.
Be Reassuring
Acknowledge the frightening parts of the event.
Explain what happened in words that children understand. Explanations should be appropriate to the child’s age, developmental stage, and language skills.
Reassure children that they are loved and will be taken care of.
Children who have concerns about siblings who are living on a college campus or have concerns about safety at their own school should be reassured and their concerns validated.
Be Thoughtful
Be aware of how you talk about the event and cope with the tragedy.
Children learn about how to react to traumatic situations by watching and listening to parents, peers, and the media.
Reduce or eliminate your child’s exposure to television images and news coverage of the shooting. The frightening images and repetition of the scenes can be disturbing for children. If they do see coverage, be sure to talk with them about what they saw and what they understood about the coverage. Make sure to correct any misunderstanding or misinterpretations.
Maintain your child’s routine as best as possible.
Be Creative
For children who are too young to talk or do not feel comfortable talking about their feelings, expressive techniques such as play, art and music can provide additional ways for children to express their feelings and let you know what may be troubling them.
Many behaviors and symptoms of stress are normal for children who have just experienced a trauma. However, if you find that your child is preoccupied with the event, has ongoing sleep or eating disturbances, is experiencing intrusive thoughts or worries, is focused on fears about death, or is having difficulty going to school and leaving parents, your child should be evaluated by a mental health professional. Contact your pediatrician, family physician, or school counselor if you feel that the symptoms are persisting and are interfering with your child’s daily routines.
For more information and resources about children and traumatic stress, please visit our website at www.ChildrensNational.org/ichoc. Fact sheets and other resources for parents, schools and professionals are available under the Resource section.
