For Educators
Crisis Distress Prevention/Intervention for Educators - Accessing and Using Resources
It is not uncommon for children and youth to show signs of stress months after a crisis or disaster. If left unchecked, chronic stress could develop into more serious mental and behavioral health issues that can interfere with daily life. If children and youth feel unsafe, stressed, or distracted by family issues, they are not able to focus on learning.
Schools can provide positive opportunities and supports for children and youth as they deal with stressors. School and community resources can be coordinated to support children and families and provide pathways to additional direct services, when needed.
The guidelines and resources below will help educators to (a) assess current school and community mental health resources, (b) access user-friendly information resources for educators and families, and (c) help school personnel determine how to provide access to direct services for students and families affected by a crisis.
1. Do you have the information to help yourself?
- Tips for Survivors of a Traumatic Event: Managing Your Stress
- Tips for Survivors of a Traumatic Event: What to Expect in Your Personal, Family, Work, and Financial Life
- How to Deal with Grief
- Coping in Hard Times: Fact Sheet for School Staff
2. Who in your school district or building is the “go to” designated leader responsible for coordination of the response for educational and mental health issues resulting from crises? Possible choices include: superintendent’s office staff, principal, vice principal, school counselor, school psychologist, or school nurse
- To effectively plan and guide your school’s response efforts throughout the year, use the detailed Educators’ Checklist for Coordinating School Response to Crisis-related Stress.
- Tips for Talking to Children and Youth After Traumatic Events: A Guide for Parents and Educators
3. Do you have school-based providers and community agencies working with the school district to provide supports and services to students and their families?
- Work together with community-based mental health providers to complete the Mental Health Services Infrastructure Assessment. This will help to assess the current school infrastructure, processes for student referrals for mental health and behavioral services, and available mental health resources within the school and community.
- Call the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or Text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 to identify local agencies, such as the Red Cross, that can provide assistance.
4. Have meetings been or will meetings be set up to inform school personnel about typical and atypical students’ responses?
- Here is a Sample Crisis Distress Staff Meeting Agenda for a school staff meeting about the Educators' Important Role in Supporting Students Experiencing Stress.
- Helpful resources for staff:
- Promote helpful training opportunities for staff and families:
- Peer listening has been found to be a valuable tool for recovery/healing that could benefit both staff and families.
- Mental Health First Aid training is an interactive 12-hour course that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorder.
5. Have meetings been or will meetings be set up to reach out to families coping with stress so that families know how to help themselves and their children? Here are some helpful resources for families:
- Tips for Talking to Children and Youth After Traumatic Events: A Guide for Parents and Educators
- Tips for Survivors of a Traumatic Event: Managing Your Stress
- How to Deal with Grief
- Tips for Talking to Children in Trauma: Interventions at Home for Preschoolers to Adolescents
- To find available resources and mental health agencies in your community, call the Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990.
6. Additional Educator Teaching Resources
- Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools
- Responding to a School Crisis
- Effects of Trauma on Schools and Learning
- Helping Children Cope with Loss, Death, and Grief
- Identifying Seriously Traumatized Children: Tips for Parents and Educators
- Understanding Cultural Issues in Death: Information for School and Crisis Response Teams
