The tragic loss of life at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24th is incomprehensible. It is difficult to reconcile the wide range of emotions, anger, and grief we feel as adults, let alone help our children begin to comprehend terrible events like this in their young minds.
After learning of the devastating news, our immediate thoughts went to supporting our Spartan community - our students, families and staff. We want to share some credible resources with talking tips to children about violence.
At the bottom of this story is a link to a resource from the National Association of School Psychologists with pertinent informationto help us all support our youth.
Additionally, The Dougy Center shared this article about talking with children about tragedies.
We also want to reassure you of our commitment to student safety measures within our schools. Last Friday, May 20th, more than 50 school administrators, counselors, psychologists, district leaders and teachers were trained by the State Department of Education through the PREPaRE Curriculum, a nationally recognized crisis prevention training. PREPaRE trains school-employed mental health professionals and other educators how to best fill the roles and responsibilities on school crisis response teams. PREPaRE is the only comprehensive, nationally available training curriculum developed by educators (each of whom have firsthand school crisis response experience and formal training) for educators. The model incorporates foundational documents provided by the U.S. Departments of Education and Homeland Security.
Finally, a note about one of the best prevention strategies: building connections and relationships. The single most effective strategy to promote or ensure school safety it to create connections among the stakeholders. Safe environments start with safe connections and open communication. We need to communicate with our students and each other to address student needs. Please reach out to us anytime you have a concern. If you are not able to reach out to someone personally, remember thatstudents and parents can utilize our Say Something Anonymous Tipline to report any concerns 24/7. Reach out to your student’s principal or counselor for additional resources or support.
For more tips about talking to your children about violence, click HERE.
We will share more information later about the many measures and safeguards Bixby Public Schools has implemented over the past few years to support the safety and well-being of our students and staff.
Respectfully,
Rob Miller, Superintendent Lydia Wilson
Associate Superintendent
