Relatively few students in Metro schools sought help from school counselors in recent days. Hundreds of counselors were prepared to respond after the horrific massacre at an elementary school in Connecticut one week ago.
Metro put nearly three hundred counselors on notice after the tragedy, along with dozens of psychologists and social workers, figuring demand was about to spike. But that never came to pass, says Tony Majors, the district’s assistant superintendent for student services.
“We didn’t see a great deal of demand for crisis counseling, because of course it happened on a Friday. Parents had the opportunity to have those conversations over the weekend. And a number of our schools sent out communication over the weekend.”
Majors notes schools work with emergency officials to keep crisis plans up to date, but he conceded they can only do so much to be secure.
Emma Egli contributed to this report.