RACINE, Wis. — Seeing the news of 19 students and two teachers being shot and killed at their school in Texas can shake everyone to their core, especially teachers and other school staff, like Trish Howard, the school counselor at Red Apple Elementary in Racine.

“We texted a lot and called each other a lot last [Tuesday] night, and a lot of emotions were flowing for us,” Howard said of her and her colleagues. 

She knew this was another devastating tragedy that — although not at their school — would possibly affect students in her building. 

So, to start the day Wednesday, she said staff were excessively welcoming to the students as they walked through the door. 

“Just to let them know, incase they knew, ‘We’re so glad you’re here, we love you, hi, great to see you!,’ so they had that extra reassurance they were coming into a safe place this morning,” Howard said. 

While many students — especially older students — may know about the shooting, and it could be talked about in a current events class, younger students can be different. 

“When you come with the elementary children, the way to interpret this is very different than with older children,” Howard said. “They automatically go to scary, they can’t always regulate their emotions.”

The impact might not be verbalized by a lot of young kids, and that’s why teachers and counselors — like Andrea Rittgers, the Executive Director of Student Services at Racine Unified Schools — look for another sign of stress after the reports of national crises, or something closer to home. 

“It does impact them, but it may impact them a little bit differently in that kind of behavior change as opposed to the ‘I’m terribly sad about this tragedy, this horrible, horrible school shooting,’” Rittgers said. 

Henry Reichenbach, a school social worker at Racine’s REAL School, said it’s so important to make sure the day is “normal” and they don’t do too much to disrupt the typical school day after a tragedy unless it’s necessary. 

 “For a lot of students, this is how they deal with things, is getting back into their normal school day and their normal routines,” Reichenbach said. “That’s a way to help them manage.”

 Rittgers said she wants parents to know if their child is stressed and traumatized over this shooting or other events, the district has resources to help. 

“After any kind of tragic event, whether it’s a national event or a local event, we do send information to our families to let them know that we’re impacted, we’re sad too,” Rittgers said. “This is hard. We understand that it’s hard, we’re here for you. We’re here for your kids. These are the resources we have in the buildings, those staff can also help you with resources outside of the buildings.”

 She said it’s a reminder that it’s okay to not be okay — and to ask for help, at any age, for any reason.