4
Bulldog Pride
May 2020 • www.baker5j.org
Advice on supporting children in the
midst of school closures, cancellations
T
he coronavirus pandemic has dis-
rupted life around the world, and
sudden closures mean a loss of familiar
routine.
Students left school on a Thursday
for a typical weekend. Then schools
were shut down for nearly two weeks...
then for the rest of the year as education
rapidly switched to distance learning.
In a time when everyone is adjusting
to a new normal, school counselors
encourage parents to help their students
build resilience — the ability to adapt
in a positive way in the presence of
adversity.
“There are things we can all do to
more effectively cope with the pandem-
ic and the associated stressors,” said
Heather Heriza.
Heriza and her husband, Pat, are
licensed clinical social workers who
contract as behavior specialists with the
Baker School District.
Silas Turner is the school counselor at
Baker High School.
All three emphasize the need to estab-
lish structure and routine at home.
“To me, that is right up there with the
most important things for resilience,”
Pat Heriza said.
Turner said it needn’t be a rigid
schedule, but a predictable routine is
helpful in times of uncertainty.
“Just stay consistent with something
basic,” he said. “Routine says ‘things
are stable, we’re okay.’”
Students at Baker High, he said, are
accustomed to seven class periods a
day. However, he doesn’t recommend
trying to mimic a traditional school day
with at-home learning.
“We have to change that mindset to
keep these kids busy for seven hours a
Resilience: the ability to adapt in a positive way
in the presence of adversity
Sayward Harrison at the Univer-
sity of South Carolina is a psychol-
ogist who studies resilience within
the context of infectious disease
epidemics. Her key points on build-
ing resilience include:
• Humans have remarkable ca-
pacity to adapt and thrive — even
in really challenging situations.
• Practicing brief daily acts of
mindfulness and gratitude can help
reduce anxiety and improve mood.
• Actively working to change
negative thoughts into positive
ones can help when we are get-
ting bogged down with all the bad
news.
• Practicing good self-care —
eating healthy, getting daily phys-
ical activity, engaging in enjoyable
activities — is also very important
in stressful times, especially for
caregivers.
• Positive, structured parenting
is helpful when going through a
stressful experience with your
children. Families should work
together to establish clear, open
communication with each other
and to set up daily routines and ex-
pectations while in the home. This
is a stressful experience for both
adults and children, and it is normal
to get frustrated more often than
day,” Turner said. “This is a great time
to get creative.”
Top priorities, they say, are to take
care of yourself, your children, eat
healthy, get good sleep, and exercise.
is typical.
• Practicing good coping skills
and modeling them for your chil-
dren is important.
Post-traumatic growth
One concept that Harrison stud-
ied is “post-traumatic growth” —
the idea that while stressful situa-
tions like COVID-19 can bring about
a lot of bad things, they also can
bring about positive changes that
we never would have expected.
Examples are extra family time to
strengthen relationships, spending
time on new hobbies, and setting
good daily practices such as taking
a walk or meditating.
turnaroundusa.org
A wealth of coronavirus resources
can be found at turnaroundusa.org.
This site provides information for
both educators and parents that in-
cludes household and remote school
routines and procedures checklist, a
routines planner, and an emotional
response strategies list.
Connections for BHS students
Students can stay in contact by
following Baker High School on
Instagram: bakerhsbulldogs. Show
how you are rocking quarantine by
tagging #bulldogsrockquarantine
Parents who exhibit resilience set a
good example for their children.
“When we build our resilience, we’re
building it for our children,” Heather
Heriza said.
Resources
The school counselors of
the Baker School District
want students, parents, and
community members to
know there are resources
available. Feel free to con-
tact your school’s counselor
at the e-mail addresses
listed here: Haines Elemen-
tary, pat.heather.heriza@
bakersd.org; Brooklyn,
erin.justus@bakersd.org;
South Baker, luke.burton@
bakersd.org; Baker Middle
School, jeana.phillips@bak-
ersd.org; Baker High School,
silas.turner@bakersd.org.
If you or someone you know
is experiencing severe emo-
tional distress or is suicidal,
GET HELP IMMEDIATELY by
contacting one or more of
the following:
• Call 911 or local men-
tal health crisis line New
Directions Northwest (541)
519-7126
• National Suicide Preven-
tion Lifeline at 1-800-273-
TALK En espanol: 1-888-628-
9454
• Crisis Text Line (text
“HOME” to 741741
• The Teen Line: 1-310-855-
HOPE (4673)
• National Youth Crisis Ho-
tline 1-800-448-4663
• Substance use help: 1-800-
662-HELP (4357)
•Community counseling:
warmline.org
•Oregon Youthline: call
877-968-8491 or text “teen-
2teen” to 839863