How to help students cope after a school shooting?

School shootings are a worldwide crisis that has taken place for many years. In the United States last year, there have been a total of 34 incidents that have occurred. It is a traumatic event that affects the school community, parents, faculty, and especially students.

During this school year of 2021-2022 in the city of Philadelphia, George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science on December 6, 2021, was alarmed by a school shooting threat via a post shared on the social media network “Instagram.” Principal Dr. Darryl Johnson as leader of the school went straight into action by contacting higher officials about the matter at hand.

“One thing that I tried to do that was difficult was, you know, listen to the professionals,” said Dr. Johnson. “The professionals are the FBI, Homeland Security. And you know the school and Philadelphia Police Department who gave the directives to do what we eventually did.” 

When students are found in a situation like this it can cause them to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of PTSD can include depression, anxiety, a decline in academic performance, the feeling of lack of safety, etc. These challenges can go away over time, especially with the proper help, but it’s important to remember that every child is not the same and adapts to crises differently. Sophia Parker, a current student at Carver believes that teachers and other staff members can help the students of the Carver community cope with proper communication skills. 

“Stop trying to normalize life after a situation as such, instead of going straight to work, we should talk about it,” said Sophia. “Have a conversation about how we feel about the situation and make sure everyone is okay. And if they’re not, okay, send them to get the help they need to be okay.”

“Students opened doors to get out of the building and left access for people to come into the building. And that was dangerous,” Dr. Johnson said. 

A system called the “reunification system” was created by Dr. Johnson to be better prepared and help unite students with their families safely from designated positions around the building.  

“Families were concerned. And so they just came and picked up their child and we weren’t prepared for the mass amount of parents that were coming to pick up their students,” Dr. Johnson said. “I think that now, with this new system that we do have in place, we can potentially do that. And at some point, I would like to practice that system with our families and our staff to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

Making sure students are physically safe is of priority when in this particular situation, but so is their emotional safety. They need to be reassured that they are safe and that it’s not expected for them to jump right back into things. It’s important for educators and other faculty members to let it be known that it’s alright for students not to be okay. They are allowed to express any type of emotions that may have towards the situation. Sophia expresses that from the Carver incident she felt she wasn’t given the full support mentally by the staff members here at Carver, which was risky for If the threat did happen they could have possibly lost their lives.