Supporting Your School Community After a Crisis: Perspectives from the WI DOJ Office of School Safety

By Cheryl Johnson, MSSW, Crisis Response and Recovery Specialist and Trish Kilpin, MSSW, Executive Director 

Leading a school community after a crisis is extremely challenging, and “getting it right” can feel like a heavy responsibility for a school administrator. Careful planning and decision making is essential in providing best practice interventions that promote healing, not only during the first moments and days immediately following a crisis or act of school violence, but in the months and years to come. The Office of School Safety has learned critical lessons from assisting two highly resilient communities in the school shooting tragedies that took place on May 1, 2024, in the Mount Horeb Area School District and December 16, 2024, at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, WI.  Both school communities have led with strength and resilience and continue to implement thoughtfully developed interventions, aiding in their ongoing healing and recovery.  

There is no end point in recovery from a traumatic incident. Returning to school while regaining a sense of safety and belonging within the learning community takes continuous, ongoing planning and implementation of interventions for adults and students. Giving voice to staff, families, and students about how best to support their healing throughout the recovery journey has best informed these interventions.

Social Support is one of the most basic and powerful interventions after a community has experienced a crisis. As soon as physical safety has been established, reuniting students and staff with their natural social supports, often family, as quickly as possible is protective. In the first few days following a crisis, providing community cohesion opportunities for staff, students, and families to gather in structured, supervised ways, begins the natural healing process. Ongoing social support will be protective throughout the recovery journey. Varied options to participate in these opportunities allow individuals to self-select what is best for them, as every individual is uniquely impacted. 

Returning to routine as soon as a community is adequately prepared is a protective factor and promotes healing after crisis. Returning to school for students and staff takes careful preparation and planning, especially if days off were needed to ensure physical restoration, safety, and emotional readiness to resume regular activities. School communities have reflected that returning to school after a school shooting tragedy felt uncertain and difficult; however, with the right level of support and interventions in place, it was doable and results in a school community healing together. A return to the school environment benefits staff, parents, and students as they recover.  

Often, staff are traumatized as well, and supporting them, as they support our students, is critical. For educators to respond appropriately and support healthy recovery, they need information and guidance about trauma, healing, and interventions that promote resiliency. Parents and other caregivers at home also benefit from guidance on how to talk to their kids, answer their questions, and manage behavior and emotions.

School leaders and crisis teams, who are, themselves, often uniquely impacted by crisis events, can feel alone and may not always know who to turn to for assistance when struggling personally. Relying on community partners to assist in recovery is recommended after a crisis. Establishing partnerships with local EMS, police, fire, county, and state agencies, prior to a crisis, will help with knowing who to reach out to and receiving timely support after a crisis.  

Recovery is a journey and continues long after the crisis event. With the right level of support, planning, and interventions for the impacted community, a resumed sense of safety and resiliency will return. If your school is impacted by a crisis event, WI DOJ’s Office of School Safety is always available to assist. 

The Office of School Safety website is Speak Up, Speak Out. For Crisis Response and Recovery support, please contact the Office of School Safety at 1-800-MY-SUSO-1 (1-800-697-8761) or e-mail [email protected].

Hearts with thoughtful messages of support and hope, written by family members, students and staff, covered the walls at ALCS when students returned to provide encouragement and strength. 

The Mount Horeb Area School District Community provided social support opportunities for their school community to begin healing together.