Dear OUSD Community,

As you are likely aware, a tragic shooting occurred at a public school in Texas yesterday, resulting in the senseless deaths of two teachers and nineteen students at Robb Elementary School. It’s a devastating heartbreak no one should ever have to face.

While this event was almost 1,300 miles away from our community, the media coverage brings it into our homes and lives. Because it is difficult to predict how anyone will react to a traumatic event, the best we can do is to be supportive of one another.

Please know that the health and safety of our students and staff remain a top priority, and we will continue to work together to ensure they always find school to be a safe place filled with engagement and support. Below are resources that you and your family may find helpful on how to reinforce safety for your children and how to communicate about this tragedy in an age-appropriate context:

• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Educators (infographic) - National Association of School Psychologists
• Hablarles a los niños sobre violencia: consejos para padres y educadores (infographic) - National Association of School Psychologists
• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers - National Association of School Psychologists
• Five tips to help children cope with a national tragedy - OCDE Newsroom
• Parent Guidelines for helping youth after a shooting - National Child Traumatic Stress Network
• How to Talk to Kids About Violence, Crime, and War - Common Sense Media

Trained school staff are available should students seek additional emotional support. In addition, General Mental Health, Crisis, and Emergency Resources, and Parent Education and Workshops are available on the OUSD website.

When it comes to safety on our campuses and the well-being of our students, please know that we continually address these priorities through multiple actions. Our school sites emphasize cultures of kindness and inclusion through daily best practices, schoolwide initiatives, and assemblies. We maintain strong partnerships with our local law enforcement, first responders, and the Orange County Department of Education to discuss preventive and proactive measures that may be taken to better protect our students and staff from acts of violence, natural disasters, and other emergency situations.

We invite you to take a moment to follow Orange Unified on social media to receive the District’s latest news and announcements. Social media may also be a critical line of communication during emergencies and will be an excellent place for you to get up to date information: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube