School Leaders Offer Help For Students After U.S. Capitol Riots

BROOKLINE, MA — Local education leaders are asking teachers and parents to consider how young people may interpret the history-making siege of the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6.

On Wednesday night, Brookline High School's Head Anthony Meyer sent a message to parents saying the school would provide resources to teachers to support students to help them learn about what happened.

"We believe that the young people in our care need to hear the adults in their lives denounce wrongdoing and violence, signal hope, and pledge our ongoing support," he wrote to families. "We work together as educators to gather students in groups both small and large and support them as they make sense of events and images that collide with the beliefs and values they have learned at home and in school."

Meyer said the school would hold an all-school assembly, host discussions aimed at trying to process the event and help students "recognize the critical importance of our democracy, particularly the centrality of peaceful transitions of power, the dangers of divisiveness, and the inherent challenges in using social media to gather facts and information."

He said counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other student support staff would be available — both in-person and remotely — for students who might need to process the events on Capitol Hill.

Meyer committed teachers to avoid sharing their own political beliefs in ways that undermine their ability to foster a safe, nurturing community.

Florida Ruffin Ridley K-8 Principal Jennifer Buller also sent home an email to families Wednesday night noting that the conversation would likely need to continue beyond school, but implored families to listen and be honest in their efforts.

"There is so much we need to engage in with our community to ensure a more just society and disrupt the conditions and systems that created and allowed this moment today," she wrote. There are likely so many questions that your child(ren) will have tomorrow, and the next day, and in the coming months. It is ok for us not to have all the answers or be able to fully tease apart and process this moment. The images in the media of today's events may invoke fear and trauma for many in our community. The most important thing for us to do right now for each other and your child(ren) is listen and be honest.

Brookline was not alone in sending out that message.

On Thursday morning Waltham High School Principal Paul Maiorano sent a message to teachers.

"The images emerging from our Capitol yesterday were shocking, appalling, and very likely deeply impacting each of us," he wrote teachers. "As we all attempt to come to grips with another dark day in American History, I hope that you will find some time and space to process this shameful event with colleagues and students over the next several days."

Maiorano shared links to resources for teachers on the Days After The Attack On The U.S. Capitol from Dr. Alyssa Hadley-Dunn, Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Michigan State University to use to consider classroom approaches to the events in Washington D.C.

Students would likely need the opportunity to ask questions and to understand the electoral process, he said.

"It is our responsibility to provide them with the facts and a safe, supportive place to write about their emotions and engage in critical thinking through respectful, evidenced-based discussions," Maiorano said.

At least one Newton principal sent a similar email to staff and the community, according to Newton Superintendent David Fleishman who said they shared tips for parents and teachers on how to talk to children about violence and an 2018 article from Teaching Tolerance on how educators can respond when news about disaster or violence breaks.

The Wednesday afternoon riot produced unprecedented images of chaos on Capitol Hill. Four people died — including one woman who was shot by Capitol police — and by Thursday morning 52 people had been arrested.

Read more coverage:

• 'This Is Anarchy': MA Lawmakers Speak Amid Chaos On Capitol Hill
• Gov. Baker Calls For President Trump To Be Removed From Office
• MA Rep. Jake Auchincloss's First Day In Congress Met With Lockdown

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.