As you prepare to speak with your faculty, students, and community about today’s realities, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools offers you the following curated resources to help with those conversations about natural disaster, death, suicide, and terrorism. For additional support, don’t hesitate to reach out to Prizmah’s Network Weaver Debra Shaffer Seeman.
Resources about the 4th of July Shooting in Highland Park, Illinois
Resources for Parents
- Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event
- Talking to Children About the Shooting
- Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth After the Recent Shooting
General Resources on Supporting Children in the Face of Tragedy
Resources for Leadership
- Resources to support children in the face of tradedy from Ohel
- Natural Disasters: Helping Kids During Tragedy by the American School Counselors Association
- Guidance on responding to disaster, violence, or terrorism events using the Psychological First Aid intervention
- Grief Leadership: Leadership in the Wake of Tragedy
- Leadership Communication: Anticipating and Responding to Stressful Events
- Funerals and Memorials: a Part of Recovery
- Suicide
- Here is an English template letter to send to families
- Here is a Spanish template letter to send to families
- Here is a template letter to send to Staff
- Here is a template to help teachers in identifying behaviors and reactions and talking to students
The templates above were created by Joffee Emergency Services.
Classroom and School Resources
- Talking to Children about Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers by NASP
- Teaching In the Wake of Violence by Facing History
- Toolbox for Care activity for students by Facing History
- Guiding Students and Families Through Grief by ASCD
- Talking With Children about Tragedies & Other News Events from HealthyChildren.org
- Shuki Taylor reflects on the shooting in Pittsburgh with hands-on classroom suggestions
- Toolkit for “When Bad Things Happen”, Southern Poverty Law Center
- 4 Ways to Talk to Teens after the Pittsburgh Shooting
- Serving as an Educator at a Time of Loss, Pain and Grief
- How to talk with your children about anti-Semitism, PJ Library
- Responding to Crisis, Jewish Education Center of Cleveland
- When Bad Things Happen, Be a Helper, Southern Poverty Law Center
- When Bad Things Happen, Southern Poverty Law Center
- Anxiety and PTSD, how to identify in students, HELPGUIDE.ORG
- Talking to Children about Events in Pittsburgh and Anti-Semitism
- Facing History's How can we help students make sense of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting and a week of violence in the United States?
- Jewish Education Project: “Scary World” Educational Resources
- Resources for Jewish Teen Philanthropy
- Educator Resources for Teens After Pittsburgh
- ADL: Talking to Young Children about Bias and Prejudice
- Helping Youth After Community Trauma: Tips for Educators
- Jewish Book Council Combating Anti-Semitism reading list
Resources for Caregivers
- How to Talk to Kids about School Shootings from Common Sense Media
- Talking to Children About Tragedies & Other News Events
- Helping Children Cope in Unsettling Times; Tips for Parents and Children, National Association of School Psychologists
- Don’t Avoid Talking To Your Kids About The Pittsburgh Shooting
- Explaining the News to Our Kids, Common Sense Media
- Strategies for Talking and Listening, PBS: Talking with Kids about News
- Difficult Conversations: Discussing Events in the News with your Children, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
- Talking to Children about Hate Crimes and Anti-Semitism
- The Psychological Impact of the Recent Shooting
- Tips for Parents on Media Coverage
- Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth after the Recent Shooting
- Helping Young Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers
- Helping School-Age Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers
- Helping Teens with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers
- After a Crisis: Helping Young Children Heal
- Guiding Adults in Talking to Children About Death and Attending Services
- Kobe Bryant's Death: Talking to Kids About Premature Death
(updated 7/12/22)