While we are processing our grief and shock together, we are writing with recommendations on how we may want to support our students at this time. They are currently still sheltering in place and any social support we can offer them through our presence—by email or otherwise—will be important.

Below is the response my (CTE Associate Director Dorothe Bach's) co-teacher and experienced trauma therapist Carolyn Schuyler just sent our students. You will notice that it is highly personal; students can relate to us better when they see us as human beings, people trying to do their best to be there for them. It normalizes the fact that our initial individual responses will vary and that feelings will fluctuate over time. There is no perfect way to respond in this situation, but reminding students that we are there for them is critical and reaching out to them now is one way to do that. If you’d like to include information about CAPS, please do so as it bears repeating.

As we are thinking about our students, please make space for your own processing in whatever ways that needs to take shape today. Let’s reach out to each other to just check in.

We will be in touch soon with thoughts on how we may respond when we are back in the classroom.