Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:35 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14, to reflect where Celine Wicks was living at the time of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. 

Twice a day, when school is in session, Principal Celine Wicks and custodial staff walk the exterior of Strawberry Park Elementary making sure all the entrances are locked and secure.

Keeping students safe is critical to Wicks, and the morning after the May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, she shared with her staff for the first time why the issue touches her so deeply. Wicks grew up 10 minutes from Newtown, Connecticut, so during the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, she had friends who lost their children in that violent act.

“We learned in the past that this can happen anywhere,” Wicks said. “Uvalde opened people’s eyes for sure.”

After the shooting in Uvalde, a city slightly larger than Steamboat Springs, many local parents hugged their children a little bit harder. Parents also reached out to school staff with questions.

“Some parents need to know our policies and procedures and to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to keep kids safe,” Wicks said. “Other parents want to be on the front line to make change.”

Wicks sent an email to parents of Strawberry Park students on May 25 that included links to articles such as “Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers” from the National Association of School Psychologists, or NASP.

“We completely understand how you are feeling as families: frightened, scared, angry, concerned,” Wicks’ email noted. “The range of emotions will continue to evolve as we process another unthinkable tragedy in our lives. We recognize we have students who are at various ages and are not able to process information in the same way. As the day goes on, we will listen to children, comfort them and support them based on individual needs. Our counseling team is prepared to assist students and families whenever needed.”

Although kindergarten students at Strawberry Park were not asking about the situation in Uvalde, the fourth and fifth graders were asking questions, Wicks said. School counselors visited the classrooms of older elementary students to discuss feelings and concerns at age-appropriate levels.

High-profile acts of violence, particularly in schools, can confuse and frighten children who may feel in danger or worry that their friends or loved ones are at risk, according to the NASP.

Health care providers are seeing heightened anxiety in children that increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and may become elevated after news of school shootings, explained Dr. Kathy Sigda, a licensed clinical psychologist who provides mental health services to children at UCHealth Mountain Crest Behavioral Health in Fort Collins.

For school leaders, Sigda suggested that lockdown drills be normalized in a similar manner as evacuation drills. Teachers can inform students about a variety of reasons a lockdown drill may be needed.

Children look to adults for information and guidance on how to react. Parents should calm themselves first before talking about tragic events with children.

“Children tend to soak in adults’ feelings about events in the news,” Sigda said.

For younger children, parents and teachers should comfort and reassure students they are safe. Young children need brief, simple information that should be balanced with reassurances that adults are helping their schools and homes be safe.

Television viewing of tragic events should be avoided for young children because developmentally inappropriate information can cause anxiety or confusion.

Children may not be able to verbalize their anxiety, but they may start exhibiting behaviors such as not wanting to go to sleep at night, not wanting to get up, not wanting to go to school or acting out at school, Sigda said. Young children may need concrete activities such as imaginative play to help them identify and express their feelings.

Shelby DeWolfe, Steamboat Springs School District behavioral health coordinator, said it’s important to provide space for school-aged children to talk about their feelings and share what they are thinking.

“The best way to determine how much information they need is to listen, really listen to them,” DeWolfe said. “Before we can offer reassurance and help them with their feelings, we have to understand what their actual concerns are.”

Middle school students may be mature enough to watch the news with parents and discuss the issues together, but each child is different.

“Be honest without overwhelming (them) with too much information,” Sigda said.

High school students, and some upper middle school students, may have strong and varying opinions and concerns. Adults should watch the news together with older students and “process it out loud together,” Sigda advised.

Adults can emphasize the important roles that students have in following school safety guidelines, communicating safety concerns to school administrators and requesting support for emotional needs.

Adults should be patient with children of all ages because children may not want to talk about their feelings. Parents can watch for clues that children may want to talk, such as hovering around adults during chores.

The psychologist added that adults can help children feel empowered during anxious times through serving and giving back to a cause in the community that they care about.

“Being able to talk to a trusted adult about this is the first step in being able to cope with their feelings and adjust to their new understanding of the world,” DeWolfe said. “We cannot protect kids from knowing about school shootings, but we can be there for them to talk about it in a safe way, which is the biggest counter to anxiety.”