Oxford High School

Dear OHS Students and Parent/Guardians - 

In the wake of the tragedy yesterday at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, we are again navigating and reexperiencing trauma and grief from our own crisis event. Our hearts are heavy and broken for the Robb Elementary School community and with our own community who are feeling the impact of this event in a very personal way. We understand all too well the anguish felt in the aftermath by the families and the school.   Knowing this, we are very fortunate to have received a substantial amount of additional support today for our students.  This included mental health professionals from Oakland Schools, Oakland Community Health Network and EasterSeals.  We are gathering as a support team this afternoon to determine what additional supports we will continue through the end of this week.  We want to make sure our students and staff have a positive and successful remainder of the week going into the holiday weekend. 

Common Initial Crisis Reactions and Resources

Trauma and grieving are complicated. Senseless violence is hard for everyone to understand. We want to reach out to our Oxford school community as you may notice that this event may stir up a lot of emotions, which is a typical and expected response when we are facing a similar tragedy.  Our students may experience a range of emotions to this event from impacting some students greatly while others may not have much of a reaction at all. There is not a right or wrong way to feel.   Many of the reactions listed below are things that we would expect to see in students dealing with reminders of unexpected death or sudden loss.   

Many of these symptoms might emerge and fade.  If you find that your student experiences one or more of these reactions that seem to worsen over time, let their counselor or support person know. 

Last name: A - Di: Mr. Jergler  248-969-5152

Last name: Dj - Kl: Mrs. Finkley  248-969-5153

Last name: Kn - Q: Mr. Brennan  248-969-5155

Last name: R-Z: Mrs. Brevik  248-969-5154

OSEC: Mr. Suckley  248-969-5017

Parent/guardians - if your student needs more intense support, please feel free to contact the following resources:

The Crisis Text Line: Available 24/7 for people of all ages - provides connection to trained crisis counselors

  *   Online Chat :  https://www.crisistextline.org/

  *   Phone Number to Text : Text the word “HOME” to 741741

Common Ground: Available 24/7 for people of all ages - provides connection to trained crisis counselors

*   Online Chat :https://commongroundhelps.org/

*   Phone Number to Call : 1-800-231-1127

The Trevor Project: Available 24/7 for LGBTQ+ Youth - provides connection to trained crisis counselors

  *   Online Chat : https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/

  *   Phone number to call : 1-866-488-7386

  *   Phone number to text : Text the word “START” to 678678

This morning, we have reminded our students that we have Counselors, Family School Liaisons, and Mental Health Clinicians available for them.  At OHS, we have adjusted our model of support to provide for 1 on 1 clinician contact for students that indicate they are in need.  This will provide for more personalized assistance with processing and coping strategies.

What can you do as a parent?

Acts of violence can be confusing or disrupt our sense of psychological safety.  Children will look to adults for information and guidance on how to react.  As a parent, you play an important role in aiding understanding and recovery. 

We strongly encourage our families to limit their exposure to the news as it will be a retraumatizing trigger.  This includes helping your child to limit their consumption of  social media exposure related to the crisis event.  Increased amounts of television or social media exposure can be harmful and  especially to younger children who are unable to interpret or make sense of the information.

Please refer to the following tips for talking to your student to guide you. 

Resources from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP): 

·        Talking to Children About Violence

·        Managing Strong Emotional Responses

Sincerely, 

Steve Wolf
Principal - Oxford High School