People in school leadership positions are faced with a nearly impossible task of creating a sense of safety, supporting teachers and staff, responding to parents and supporting children. And on top of it, managing their own mental health. Here are four actions school leaders can put in place after yet another act of school violence hits the news.
The reality of today’s world is that schools no longer feel like a safe space. With school shootings happening across the country, teachers, school staff, parents and children are living in a state of heightened awareness and growing anxiety.
People in school leadership positions are faced with a nearly impossible task of creating a sense of safety, supporting teachers and staff, responding to parents and supporting children. And on top of it, managing their own mental health.
Here are four actions school leaders can put in place after yet another act of school violence hits the news.
1. Lead with Humanness
The first thing isn’t so much something to do, but rather something to be. When leaders show up authentically and display empathic leadership, it has a powerful trickle-down effect. This can be done by communicating, verbally and nonverbally, messages like, “I’m here for you. This news is hard.”
It is important to remember that everyone responds to trauma and crisis differently. Some may be eager to process it while others may prefer to compartmentalize and get back to work. A strong leader identifies that everyone’s needs differ, but that at the very foundation, everyone needs to be seen and treated as a human.
2. Acknowledge the Event and Share Resources
It is important that leaders speak out. Yes, unfortunately, there have been numerous mass shootings and school incidents this year. Yes, that means that there might be numerous times in the year – even the week – where the leader needs to reach out to their team and acknowledge the event.
This can be done in the way that makes the most sense and is consistent with how the school team typically operates. Some leaders will send an email, others may go room to room to check in, and others may call a team meeting. The format isn’t as important as the message, which is to say, “I’m here for you. We are all responding in different ways. We are in this together. This work is hard. Please tell me how I can best support you.”
Resources to share might be talking points or links to articles about talking with children about violence, a scheduled meeting with school families, or links, hotlines or resources with more information.
3. Equip Staff to Have Conversations with Families
Teachers and other school staff are fielding questions from students and their families. Do they have what they need to navigate this? Providing staff with the appropriate resources can include things like a reminder of school safety procedures and what to say and not say with children. It is not easy (or natural) for teachers to be in the position of navigating these conversations with families and effective school leaders give tools the resources they need to navigate this, including stepping in and fielding the conversations as appropriate.
4. Support Teachers in Taking Care of Themselves
People tend to overlook the importance of self-care in a time of crisis. How can we possibly care for ourselves during a time like this? But if teachers are not well, they will not be able to teach or care for children well.
If a teacher is experiencing trauma or stress as a result of an incident of violence in schools, they can and should use personal time off to care for themselves. Of course, taking time off as an educator isn’t always easy, but teachers need to be emotionally and mentally healthy in order to show up for students.
Educators and school leaders can practice simple mental health practices such as talking to someone about their emotions. Whether its processing with a teaching partner or a loved one outside of school, being able to get thoughts out in safe ways prevents it from spilling out in less safe and healthy places, such as in front of children or families.
Lastly – therapy! If there are barriers to therapy, leaders can support teachers by finding options through insurance or other affordable options. Therapy is a gift that can support sustainability in this taxing profession.
Of course, this is the gold standard for how school leaders could respond. Not all campuses will get all four of these points right. We’re all only human.
What to do if your school doesn’t quite hit the mark on one or more of these points? It’s not fair to put the burden of managing this on top of the work educators are already doing to show up every single day. But there are still things every educator can do to manage their own mental health and maybe even make the campus a better place for their colleagues.
Focus on the circle of control.
While an individual person can’t control the events of the world, the way a district or campus responds, or the way coworkers show up in the face of crisis, they can control their own responses. They can show up with kindness and empathy and you can choose to take on only what fits within their circle of control.
Center empathy and compassion.
Everyone is navigating this complex reality in a different way. It is important to have empathy for those who show up differently, compassion for school leaders, families and children who each bring their own experiences and mental health into the conversation, and most importantly, self-compassion for the way emotions and responses show up.
Lean on each other.
Educators are often siloed, not able to spend much time during the day connecting with each other. But in times of crisis, educators can lean on each other. It is important to remember the incredible power of just checking in. After all, we are humans – we are wired for connection!
Lastly, it is important to remember that this is all relatively new. Most educators and school leaders didn’t come into the field of education trained on how to navigate this particular brand of crisis. Across the country, school professionals are still learning the best ways to respond and manage conversations around gun violence in schools. So ultimately, it’s important to be patient, to have compassion when mistakes are made and, above all, to lead with humanness.
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