School responds well to tragedy

Dealing with the tragic death of a student is perhaps one of the toughest jobs teachers and school administrators have to handle. And one of the most important.
It’s a time when students are most vulnerable, most in need of adult support to sort out their emotions.
If early indications are accurate, the team of teachers, counselors and administrators in the Vandalia Community School District handled it well. They were prepared with a plan, and they put that plan into action on very short notice after receiving word Tuesday evening of the death of a sophomore student at Vandalia Community High School.
Administrators worked through the night, coordinating their efforts with the regional office of education’s School Crisis Assistance Team, teachers and counselors in order to have a support system available to students when they arrived at school Wednesday morning. A special meeting of all high school teachers was held at 7:30 a.m. to make sure they were fully informed and updated on the assistance available to students.
Though that SCAT team already involves several ministers, other members of the Vandalia Ministerial Alliance were available at the school to provide additional support. And rooms were set aside for students to meet with counselors to sort things out.
“We’re looking for hall presence – to be visible and available to students,” said Superintendent Rich Well. “We don’t want students to be alone.”
Through social networking and cell phones, many students initially learned of the tragedy while at home Tuesday night. Hopefully, being in a supportive home atmosphere was the best place to be when receiving such news.
We’re thankful that the school and area ministers were prepared and available to help the students further process the situation at school on Wednesday. Seeing that network spring into action makes us thankful to live in such a community.
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