Where to start? Guidance for school staff, families, and community members. 

Make a commitment to:

• Taking care of the mental and emotional health of our youth, our colleagues, and ourselves.
• Listen. Talking about race, racial violence, racism, Black Lives Matter, and elevating youth voices.
• Paying close attention to news, media, and other information sources.
• Working to be actively anti-racist.

Take care of yourself. Take care of others.

• Consider the mental and emotional health of our young people, our colleagues, and ourselves.

Educate yourself.

• Educate yourself on the current moment and learn why people are organizing. Do research to better understand these issues, and do not rely on Black people to explain their feelings or their knowledge.

 Engage our youth.

• Acknowledge what has happened. Acknowledge this is hard. Show that you care, and tell our youth you are here for them. Be patient and understanding.
• Hold space for youth to reflect and to share how they feel. Acknowledge the issues behind the current moment and the pain folks are feeling. Consider holding circles or free-form discussions. If you are a teacher looking for ideas on how to introduce these discussions in your classroom, explore these instructional protocols and activities.  
• Remember not to take symptoms of trauma (anger, withdrawal, distance, irritability) personally. If a young person does not want to talk or share, that is okay. Acknowledge their feelings and support youth where they are.
• Learn about and pay attention to media and information.
• Talk and learn about how to be actively anti-racist.