Connecticut Tragedy: What You Can Do

A terrible tragedy hit us last week when 27 people were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut. I cannot begin to express my own sadness at this time. It's important to focus on what we can do now and right now our children need us and Newtown needs us.

To help your children, nieces, nephews, or children in your care, it's important to talk to them, limit exposure to new coverage and be aware of the child's emotional state. 

ACPS has a note from Dr. Sherman in their newsletter today: 

A MESSAGE FROM DR. SHERMAN

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Ct. We want to assure our ACPS families that our security systems are mindful of the need to protect each and every child. The sad reality is that we as a national educational community have learned lessons about how to deal with crises such as today's mass shooting. We encourage parents to talk with their children in a factual and developmentally appropriate manner. The National Association of School Psychologists' web page offers excellent resources, including a handout for parents and teachers about talking to children about violence. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also offers tips for helping children cope after a traumatic event. Echoing what Charles Barrett Elementary School Principal Seth Kennard wrote today in a letter to the Barrett community, "I know we will all hug our children a little bit tighter when they get home today."

Organizations like the American Psychology Association, Children's National Medical Center, and the NEA have resources to help you and your children talk about and understand tragedies like this. 

A number of fundraisers to help the victims' families are popping up. Here are a couple we've found:

To help local groups in Newtown, you can go to Razoo's donation page that has a dozen organizations and Crowdrise already has more than $72,000 raised.