Following the Difficult Event
First Actions
School and district leaders are amongst the first responders when a crisis (e.g., student death, natural disaster, or traumatic event) impacts their school community. These administrators and leaders work directly with students, staff, and families, which can be emotionally draining and overwhelming. They may experience vicarious trauma, which means they absorb some of the emotional pain and stress of those they are helping. For these reasons, TRIS was created to support school leadership during these difficult times.
Request a Consultation
After you have requested a TRIS consult, consider how you have learned and are continuing to learn information. Ensure that information is accurate and factual. Consider family preferences if the difficult event is related to an individual child or teacher (e.g., death of a child). Also, make sure that you refer to your school or district crisis response plans and related policies if the event is covered by those documents.
You never have to manage a difficult event impacting your school alone; let TRIS help you think through the next steps with clarity and care.
Gather Current Accurate Information
Notify Staff
Consider meeting first with staff most likely to be impacted. If possible, hold a meeting before school to share information, note students needing extra support, monitor staff well-being, and review the process for identifying students who may need a higher level of care. Ideally, designate a space monitored by counselors or mental health staff for ongoing support in the days that follow.
Communicate Clearly and Transparently
Create a Centralized Information Hub
Establish a single point of contact (e.g., a designated phone line, website, or email) for parents, staff, and community members to get updates.
Notify Caregivers
Let caregivers know about the event so that they are prepared to support students outside of school. Prepare resources to share with caregivers, such as the NCTSN Tips for Parents and Caregivers on Media Coverage of Traumatic Events and NCTSN Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event.
Deliver Developmentally Appropriate Communication to Students
Consider How to Deliver News
Share information with students in an age- and developmentally appropriate manner. Use direct, concrete words. For example, in the event of a death, use terms like died or death instead of lost or not here anymore, especially with younger children. Difficult news is often best received from a trusting adult they know. Also, consider delivery to small groups rather than to the entire school. Read more about age and development considerations.
Consider Who Should Deliver the Information
The best person to deliver difficult news to students is a combination of people who can provide support and guidance, such as teachers, administrators, counselors, and mental health professionals. Approach these conversations with empathy, honesty, and a focus on the child's well-being.
Provide Only Essential Information
When students have questions, be thoughtful to answer only with the information they are seeking. Be transparent and remember it is okay to say, “I don’t know.” Explore our sample scripts and communication resources.
Provide Immediate Emotional Support
Support Students and Staff in the Immediate Aftermath
In addition to information, students and staff benefit from the availability of emotional support immediately following the difficult event.
It is important to have staff and counselors available to listen and offer comfort. Consider involving community mental health partners and faith leaders. Remember, staff may also be experiencing emotional stress and should be offered support, as well.
Students and staff both need safe spaces to express emotions. It is important for students and staff to have their own safe spaces to talk about the complicated emotions surrounding a difficult event.
Provide structured activities for students to process their feelings in their own way. Some may need more physical activities (e.g., playing catch) and others may need a quieter, still activity (e.g., sitting in a quiet room). Some may want to be alone, and others may desire companionship.
Assess High-Risk Individuals
Monitor Students and Staff
Identify students and staff who might be at higher risk for severe emotional reactions (e.g., those with a history of trauma) and provide additional support. Use known risk factors for psychological trauma to identify those who may be at risk for psychological trauma and initiate mental health crisis interventions. Remember that a person’s background and exposure to previous trauma should be considered when assessing levels of trauma.
NCTSN provides more information about how certain populations experience a higher risk of trauma.
Need more Help? Contact TRIS for further support on how to identify high-risk individuals and offer thoughtful, trauma-informed help.
Provide Routine and Stability
After a traumatic event, try to restore as much routine and structure as possible. Normalcy can be a powerful coping mechanism for students and staff.
Maintain Normalcy and Structure
Create Opportunities for Social Support
Encourage students to connect with trusted peers and adults. Maintain or establish peer groups where they can talk or engage in normal school activities.
Additional Information
Access additional resources related to supporting students using a trauma-informed lens at NCTSN Helping Youth after Community Trauma: Tips for Educators
Considerations for Age, Development, and Disability
One of your initial tasks when planning a response to a difficult event is to consider the ages and developmental levels of students. You also want to think about how to tailor your response to meet the needs of students with disabilities, particularly if a disability significantly impacts a student’s thinking, emotional awareness, behavioral regulation, or sensory processing. A student might need additional mental health support services if changes feel significant, persistent, or drastically different from before the difficult event. The ARBEST Clinician Directory lists Arkansas providers with specialized, evidence-based training. Contact the TRIS team or the AR ConnectNow program for help with identifying appropriate referrals.
Younger Children (Elementary School)
Following a difficult event, younger students may struggle to verbally express their thoughts and emotions. They also could have a hard time separating from their parents, caregivers, or trusted adults. You might notice changes in their overall behavior, and their play may become less imaginative, more repetitive, or include themes related to the event. Younger students' academic performance and developmental skills also may regress, and toileting accidents could occur.
Teachers and school staff are essential in helping younger students regain their sense of security and safety following a difficult event. Here are general recommendations for use with this age group:
Remind Students That They Are Safe
Offer simple, reassuring statements. Read more about communicating with students, staff, and families.
Answer Questions Truthfully and Succinctly
Try to answer just the question(s) posed without adding elaboration. Remember, it is appropriate and advisable to say, “I don’t know” at times.
Provide Students Choices When You Can
Even small choices can help them feel more in control following a difficult event.
Seek Guidance From Mental Health Professionals
Rely upon guidance from your school’s counselor or mental health team (if available in your school/district).
Maintain Routines
Continue with classroom rituals that were in place prior to the difficult event. Consider incorporating new routines that foster calmness, such as these Instructional videos to build mindfulness skills at AR ConnectNow.
Give Students a Place to Process
Play or art activities may help these young students process their thoughts and feelings. However, a student should not be forced to participate in such activities if doing so does not feel comfortable to them.
Expect Changes in Behavior or Mood
Try to remember that a student’s behavioral problems may be driven by their feelings related to the difficult event. Although you should continue to set clear, firm limits for inappropriate behaviors and use logical consequences, it also is very important to try to avoid being punitive.
Reach Out for Support
Remember, is available to help support you as you support your school.
Older Students (Middle and High School)
As with younger students, you may observe changes in academic performance or behavior (e.g., irritability or increased absenteeism) among older students following a difficult event. Yet, additional considerations exist related to the support of middle- and high-school students.
These students often understand a difficult event more fully than younger students; however, adolescence is a vulnerable time. Students are becoming more independent and figuring out who they are and who they want to be. Some of them may have trouble incorporating their thoughts and feelings about the event with their emerging sense of self. They may experience increased anger or anxiety, or they may begin to socially isolate from others. Older students also may begin to engage in or to increase use of risky behaviors as a coping mechanism.
The following are general recommendations for schools to consider when supporting this age group:
Maintain Routines
You should try to maintain the normal school and classroom routines as much as possible. Doing this can help students feel safe.
Answer Questions Truthfully and Succinctly
If students ask questions, answer them truthfully with simple, direct language that isn’t overly elaborate. Remember, it is always okay to say, “I don’t know.” If it is an inappropriate time to address the question, tell the student when and where they can talk and ask questions.
Give Students a Place to Process
Middle- and high-school students may benefit from small, well-managed spaces for open dialogue and peer support—but, ensuring that firm boundaries and expectations are maintained is essential.
Expect Changes in Behavior or Mood
Remember that changes you see in a student’s mood or behavior may be significantly impacted by their feelings related to the difficult event. While setting clear, firm limits for inappropriate behaviors and using logical consequences remains important, you should also avoid being punitive.
Provide Students Choices When You Can
Give middle and high school students choices, if possible. Even small choices can help them feel more in control following a difficult event.
Provide Support for Difficult Times
Students may experience difficulties around certain times, such as a reminder of the event. Be sensitive to this and offer additional support when able.
Monitor Dynamics
Remain aware of peer dynamics and the potential for increased bullying or social pressures.
Seek Guidance From Mental Health Professionals
Rely upon guidance from your school’s counselor or mental health team (if available in your school/district).
Reach Out for Support
Remember, TRIS is available to help support you as you support your school.
Students With Disabilities
Following a difficult event, school leaders must tailor their response to account for the varying needs of students, including those with intellectual or developmental delays or disabilities. Trauma can have a unique effect on students with cognitive, sensory, or emotional difficulties. While some students may adjust well, others may have difficulty understanding the emotional impact of the event. Some may experience increased anxiety or difficulties regulating their emotions and behaviors, and others may respond in a manner that is typical of students much younger than they are. Environment and routine changes may present as even more difficult for these children when compared to others within the school.
Special education staff should help guide the plan for supporting students with disabilities, as they are likely to be more closely aware of the individualized needs of these children. The following section describes additional considerations for school staff when supporting students with disabilities in the aftermath of a difficult event.
Address Immediate Needs
Ensure medical and physical needs are promptly addressed.
Answer Questions Truthfully and Succinctly
Answer questions honestly, succinctly, and with concrete language. Remember, it is okay to say, “I don’t know.”
Maintain Routines
Maintain schedules, routines, and interactions with familiar people as much as possible.
Provide Appropriate Ways to Talk About the Event
Some students may need plans or information to be repeated or presented in a visual format. Some students may need options for how to express their needs (e.g., use cards to point to emotion faces or other specific needs).
Give Students a Place to Process
Some students may experience heightened sensitivity to noise, light, or crowded spaces following a difficult event. Providing quiet spaces or sensory breaks can help them self-regulate.
Adhere to Support Plans
Ensure accommodations and individualized support plans remain in place, are referenced, and incorporated into support plans following a difficult event. Some schools find it useful to create and annually update brief individualized emergency plans for students with significant disabilities. These brief plans can be easily referenced should the unthinkable happen.
Provide Coping Tools
Many students with disabilities benefit from structured coping tools (e.g., breathing exercises, fidget items, movement breaks, or access to a designated calm space). Reinforcing these strategies can support emotional regulation.
Seek Guidance From Mental Health Professionals
Rely upon guidance from your school’s counselor or mental health team (if available in your school or district).
Reach Out for Support
Remember, TRIS is available to help support you as you support your school.
Additional Information
Access additional resources related to age-related reactions to trauma, supporting students experiencing grief, and how trauma impacts students with disabilities.
Supporting Age-Specific Students During Grief
Handling Difficult Events While Serving Children With Disabilities
As educators, administrators, and school leaders, we know that meeting the needs of the students you serve is always a high priority. We admire and commend the wonderful work you do molding the future! In the next section, we encourage you to consider the vital importance of also checking in with yourself and your colleagues following a difficult event.
In schools, the word crisis often refers to a natural disaster, an act of violence, or something else that immediately threatens the physical safety of a student or staff member. However, when using this toolkit, or when thinking of the consultative services available through TRIS, the word crisis can be thought of as any difficult event that affects your school or district. This might be a natural disaster, a suicide, an accident, heightened violence in the surrounding community, death, school-based violence, a serious illness or injury of someone within the school, or any other event that is particularly difficult for your school or district. Because of this, the terms difficult event and crisis are used interchangeably in this resource.
The word trauma also means different things to different people; but experts commonly talk about three key factors when discussing a trauma: the event itself, the experiences of an individual during and after the event, and the effects that follow.
Supporting Staff Wellness in School Personnel
Building A Culture of Wellness
Establish Wellness Committees that focus on staff well-being and resilience.
Sustain workplace satisfaction through community-building activities, such as staff appreciation, social events, relaxation spaces, or enriching break areas.
Recognize school staff as key figures in student recovery, while acknowledging their own experiences of grief, distress, or trauma.
Prioritizing Staff Self-Care and Mental Health
Monitor signs of emotional distress among staff (e.g., changes in performance, demeanor, or attendance).
Consider implementing flexible work arrangements or rotating schedules after school-wide crises to prevent burnout.
Provide temporary workload adjustments following high-stress periods.
Encourage structured opportunities for staff to process their experiences,
including peer support groups and mental health resources.
Providing Access to Mental Health Support
Ensure awareness of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services.
Create safe spaces for open discussions on staff mental health and coping strategies.
Offer wellness-focused professional development. See our mental health resource guide for more information about trainings.
Proactive Approaches to Staff Wellness
Taking Care of Yourself: Strategies for School Personnel
School personnel—whether teachers, counselors, administrators, or support staff—face unique emotional challenges. Below are evidence-based ways to take care of yourself by managing stress and promoting resilience both during the workday and after hours. These skills, aligned with the CE-CERT framework, support one another: practicing one skill helps strengthen skills in other domains.
This information is drawn from the publication:
Miller, B. C. (2021). Reducing secondary traumatic stress: Skills for sustaining a career in the helping professions (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003049043
Feeling the Feels (Experiential Engagement)
Acknowledge and validate emotions rather than suppressing them.
Recognize that avoiding or ignoring emotional experiences can lead to more distress.
Getting Out of Your Head (Reducing Rumination)
Recognize the difference between productive problem-solving and unhelpful overthinking.
Engage in activities that redirect attention and break the mental spin, such as physical movement, social connections, or creative hobbies.
Paying Attention to Your Story (Conscious Narrative)
Be mindful of how you interpret daily challenges and stressors.
Shift the narrative by focusing on resilience and problem-solving rather than self-doubt.
Reflect on the meaning of a stressful experience and ways to grow from the experience.
Compassion Without Burnout (Reducing Emotional Labor)
Recognize opportunities to surface feelings in a way that does not damage relationships.
Practice activating compassion for everyone and eliminating conditions to compassion.
Learn how to make dreadful tasks more efficient or more enjoyable.
Recharging and Rest (Parasympathetic Recovery)
Take intentional breaks throughout the day to reset.
Engage in a relaxing activity for 20 minutes after work to incorporate pleasurable activity and reduce likelihood of thinking about stressors from the day.
Additional Information
Access additional resources related to school personnel wellness, trauma-informed care, and crisis response in the school setting.
Trauma-Informed Care and Educator Wellness
Burnout and Fostering Resilience
Adjustment and adaptation to life after a difficult event can be unpredictable. Someone may seem to adjust and cope well initially, showing little to no signs of difficulty in the days following an even yet have needs arise weeks or even months later. In the next section, we discuss the importance of ongoing monitoring, continued emotional support, and additional follow-up.