'They're used to this:' As area students cope with tragedy, districts bolster security
Beth Rizzi said she picked up on feelings of sadness among adults at John Jay High School Wednesday morning.
Students in the East Fishkill school appeared more numb, even less than 24 hours after a shooting at an elementary school in Texas took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
Rizzi, a Wappingers district psychologist and president of the New York Association of School Psychologists, said students are faring better than anticipated, a sign such tragedies have become their new normal, even as some came to visit her through the day.
"It's a double-edged sword," she said. "On one hand, it's a true sign of how resilient children are, but on the other hand, I think it's also a sad (statement) to the fact that they're used to this and that this is not new."
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Districts across the Mid Hudson Valley sent out letters to communities Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning to make parents aware of the emotional support resources that would be offered to students and to highlight security measures in schools, promising discussions with local authorities to ensure students and staff are secure during the school day.
Many said they've been in conversation with local law enforcement to review safety protocols and make necessary changes.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced she wants "state police patrols visiting our schools, doing daily check-ins, every single day from today until the end of the school year."
Dutchess County Acting Sheriff Kirk Imperati issued a statement through the office's Facebook page, noting he "directed deputy sheriffs to increase their presence at schools throughout Dutchess County. Schools should never be a place of fear and my deputies and I stand ready to safeguard our schools."
The shooting comes in a school year in which several area districts have had to miss in-person learning days due to threats against schools issued online. There has also been an uptick in fighting among students and, in November, there was a shooting outside Poughkeepsie High School in which nobody was injured.
In a letter to the community, Wappingers Superintendent Dwight Bonk compared the incident to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
"Please know that the safety and security of our students and staff remains our top priority," he wrote. "We will be reviewing our current practices and protocols with our local law enforcement agencies, and with our security consultant to ensure that they are consistent with the current industry standards."
Poughkeepsie Superintendent Eric Rosser shared information with the community on how parents can speak to their children about violence and shootings. The district has team of mental health professionals equipped to support students dealing with trauma.
"While these mass shootings are not within the proximity of our community, locally we have seen the unlawful use of firearms impact members of our community, most notably school-aged youth over the past several years," he said. "Our concern as adults is; how are our children processing these events and maintaining an optimistic perspective about the world we live in and their place within it? It is important that we provide our children with opportunities to elevate their feelings and voices, comforting them so that they don't feel alone and become apathetic with what the future holds for them."
Talking to children about violence
Rizzi said she saw more students than usual on Wednesday, but it was not the wave of students she prepared her staff for.
"There are kids that are nervous and anxious or sad and we're getting to all of them as quickly as we become aware," she said.
On Wednesday morning Rizzi sent out information under the umbrella of the New York Association of School Psychologists, giving teachers and parents pointers on how to discuss violence with students. Here are some of the points to keep in mind when having conversations with students:
Reassure children they are safe.
Make time to talk.
Keep explanations age appropriate.
Review safety procedures with students.
Make note of their emotional state.
Limit access to media depicting the events.
Maintain a normal routine.
Bolstering mental health resources was a focus for many districts in budgets approved this month. Many added mental health positions and funded contracts with community and private organizations, such as Mental Health Alliance and Astor Family Services. For example, Wappingers has hired, or will hire 10 additional mental health support staff between the 2021-22 and the newly approved budgets, and Beacon added five mental health support positions in its 2022-23 budget.
Arlington Superintendent Dave Moyer, in his letter to the community, emphasized the importance of students informing staff of possible safety issues.
"Please help students see this as helping a struggling classmate, as opposed to 'telling on' someone. Identifying students-at-risk is one of the first steps in effective prevention," he wrote.
In his letter, Rosser called on the community to create a safe environment, with support for students. Poughkeepsie in its budget made investments in crisis intervention, social emotional learning and mental health clinics.
"In this time of great adversity, it is important that we continue to support our children and their youth development," Rosser said. "Our partnership in achieving this becomes more and more important each day. My sincere hope is that through our collaboration our children will feel supported in school, at home, and throughout our community."
Katelyn Cordero is the education reporter for the Poughkeepsie Journal: kcordero@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @KatelynCordero.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Uvalde shooting: Dutchess districts bolster security, help students
