Supporting students during times of crisis

  • Tragedy can affect a nation or a single family. Some crises happen suddenly while others build over time. Each of these situations can be difficult for children to understand and challenging for families to navigate.

    Community Consolidated School District 89 is providing these resources to help start conversations at home. Each CCSD 89 school has a counselor, social worker, and psychologist available to work with students. These trained professionals can help students and their families with strategies for how to have transparent, age-appropriate conversations. 

    When there is violence in the news

    When the news is dominated by a violent news story, it can be hard to avoid coverage of the event. Children often absorb more information than we realize, and that news can affect them in different ways.

    During these times, let your children’s questions guide your responses. Try to keep a normal routine and limit the child's exposure to images or graphic references. Be aware of how you are watching or talking about this event.

    If you are looking for some words on how to discuss these issues with your kids, the National Association of School Psychologists has created helpful documents:

    Additionally, there are a number of resources on the National Child Traumatic Stress Network

    These resources can also help:

    Supporting your children

    Families should have conversations about the importance of speaking up. Make sure your child understands that they should let you know if they hear about threatening behavior, including words posted online. If you or your student need to report a safety situation, you can contact local police or a school official.

    Students and families can confidentially call, email, or text the Safe2Help tip line to report bullying, threats, or classmates in crisis. Students or families can call (844) 4-SAFE-IL, which is (844) 472-3345; text SAFE2, which is 72332; email Help@Safe2HelpIL.com; or submit tips through the online form. Safe2Help submissions are monitored every hour of every day. More info: https://bit.ly/3BPxObO

    CCSD 89 safety practices

    The district regularly conducts safety training with the entire staff, including teachers and support personnel. There are recurring crisis-planning meetings where the district's leadership team meets with emergency responders to review the latest training methods, share feedback, and run through various scenarios based on national best practices.

    Throughout the year, police and fire officials conduct announced and unannounced drills in CCSD 89 schools, including active shooter, weather emergency, and fire drills.

    All staff members have practiced reunification to ensure students can be safely reconnected with their families in the event of a school evacuation or other emergency.

    The district also has experts regularly review the design of school buildings and school security systems to ensure they provide the safest possible environment for learners.