At the end of the last school year, more students than usual visited the Wellness Center at Mission High School in San Francisco. Absenteeism was higher, too.

 

The reason for the sudden epidemic of headaches, stomachaches and even toothaches was evident just inside the school's entrance. At first glance, the display of flowers and balloons looked festive; on closer inspection, it proved to be a shrine to a beloved student murdered in the street just a few weeks before graduation.

 

Raymon Bass, known as "Ray Ray," was 17, a football star, an honor-roll student and prom king apparent. The shrine was decorated with pictures of Bass, a pair of his running shoes, memorabilia, flowers and notes from fellow students. One note made reference to another student shot a few months earlier at age 15: "First Scharod and now you, Raymon. What is the world coming to with all the young black men dying?"

 

Shortly after the tragedy, when students began to pour into the Wellness Center with physical complaints, community health outreach worker Manuelito Biag started practicing what he calls "guerrilla counseling."

 

"I would ask them to sit down and talk, and other things would come up," says Biag, a United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) member. "I would find out they were not sleeping, or that they had a hard time concentrating in class, or that they couldn't cope with what had happened and were not attending school regularly."

 

Some students felt better after just talking. Some wanted to be left alone and allowed time to compose themselves before returning to class. Those in need of more intensive help were referred to the San Francisco Mental Health Department or other community organizations for assessment, discussion groups and treatment.

 

"Some had really serious issues," says Biag. "You have to keep in mind that many of our students are exposed to violence in their communities. Even students who didn't know Raymon were affected, because his death triggered memories of other deaths."

 

For Mission High School staff, it was a painful process to help students deal with their grief and at the same time get on with the business of teaching and learning. "This turned things upside-down here, and it is not something that will go away overnight," says Biag. "You have to let students express what they are feeling, but you don't want to constantly bring it up and rehash it, either."

 

Many of the teachers were in shock, too, says chemistry teacher Derrlyn Tom. "Many of us didn't think something like this would ever get so close to home. The teachers here have tried very hard, and we have had discussions with our students. But we can't stop every lesson to talk about how we are feeling."

 

Teachers have to walk a fine line in dealing with the trauma students are experiencing while at the same time trying to get on with the business of teaching. When students arrive for class with emotional baggage, teachers are not sure whether it should it be checked in at the door or opened with care.

 

"Some students can handle the pressure, and others - not so well," says Victor Wilson, a history teacher at Skyline High School in Oakland. "Some carry their anger and problems into the classroom. I tell them, 'I know you are going through some things - we can talk about it another time - but right now you need to be a student.' I tell them that they can apply themselves at school to escape the things that are bothering them."

 

The Oakland Education Association member makes it a point, however, to talk to troubled students outside of class if he senses that they need to talk. Many of his students tell him stories of incarcerated parents, parents abusing drugs and alcohol, and violence happening in the neighborhood on a regular basis.

 

"A lot of kids who live with that are not numb, but they get used to it because it happens all the time. It's almost like a way of life. But I think it eventually does affect their personality and motivation. It's hard to be in school and succeed academically when you must prove to the world that you're tough. It's almost like they are saying, 'I can handle this,' and want to prove to everyone that they are tough and nothing affects them. But it does affect them. They start performing worse in school and getting into trouble."

 

"We had a student killed last weekend," says Wilson. "On Monday, we had grief counselors come in. A lot of the students were sent to the auditorium for help in dealing with their emotions. I gave students their own space for a couple of days and, by Thursday, we were back on task again."

 

While San Francisco and Oakland have resources outside of the classroom to deal with students who are traumatized, other school sites are not so lucky. Teachers must step up to the plate instead.

 

"We have had a really hard time getting any kind of resources here," says Jacque Kornelsen, a counselor at Oak Hill Middle School in Clear Lake. "We have an increasing population of severely emotionally disturbed kids."

 

Clear Lake, an impoverished town in Lake County, has a high rate of drug and alcohol problems and domestic violence. Kornelsen has little time to help students with emotional problems because she is busy scheduling classes, disciplining students and coordinating STAR testing. She tries to combine counseling with discipline. "We don't help all the kids who are needy, just the behavior problems who act out in class. I worry about the kids who are quiet."

 

Indeed, the quiet ones can often turn out to be the ones most in need of help, says Russ Henry, who teaches first-graders at Bayshore Elementary School in Daly City. "Introverts who are quietly suffering can be in much worse shape than extroverts, who talk about their crises and then move on."

 

Henry, who is the president of the Bayshore Teachers Association, teaches youngsters in a portable classroom a few blocks away from a violence-ridden housing project in San Francisco. It is not unusual for students to hear gunfire at night. Some of his students - who are Pacific Islanders, Latinos and Chinese - live in small residences where multiple families are crowded together, and children sleep on the floor in sleeping bags. Parents may be afraid to let their children go outside to play, and talk about moving away before the kids get older and are tempted to join gangs.

 

Henry says his goal is to make all his students - especially those who are traumatized - feel that school is a good, safe place. He also tries to help them feel good about themselves because he figures students with confidence will be better able to cope with problems as they arise. While some have poked fun at the self-esteem movement, Henry believes it is important to instill in children a sense that they are competent and cherished. "When kids discover they are successful at solving problems and they can be successful at school, they become more resilient."

 

He asks his students - especially the quiet ones - to pair up with classmates for school projects or errands, such as walking to the school office to deliver an envelope. Often friendships develop out of such partnerships. Children who are traumatized do much better overall if they feel they have at least one good friend, says Henry.

 

He also involves his students in nurturing activities, such as taking care of baby ducks hatched in class. When they see the beautiful things in life, they're better able to feel upbeat and optimistic.

 

Sometimes, just letting a student know that you care can make a huge difference.

 

"When I let them know I care, they seem to start caring more about themselves," says Gayla Mead, who teaches at-risk students in an opportunity program at Magnolia Junior High School in Chino. "I don't always see immediate results, but I don't get discouraged. I see my job as planting seeds that will blossom over time. I have had students come back and tell me that I made a big difference. My caring changed them. One student told me years later he was thinking about committing suicide and that my concern stopped him."

 

Mead, a member of Associated Chino Teachers who once taught at the high school level, believes "more students are struggling today at earlier ages."

 

At the beginning of the school day, she takes a few minutes to talk with her students. "It doesn't take much to help a child, sometimes just a smile, asking them how they are, or reaching out to some students who are quiet or difficult. Just a little comment can make a difference, like saying, 'I care about you, and if you want to talk later, I'm here.'"

 

In today's troubled times, teachers need to go the extra mile, says Tracy Lahr, a drama teacher at Oak Hill Middle School and Lower Lake High School in Clear Lake. While teachers can't take the place of parents, "we spend more time with these kids than some parents in general. Perhaps we didn't give birth to these children, but we deal with them every day and have to support them emotionally as well as educate them. Sometimes they need more from us than learning how to solve math problems or how to write a complete sentence. Sometimes you have to deal with the whole child before you get what you want from them in your subject area. Sometimes we are the only adult figure they can talk to and the only positive role model they have. We need to take that part of our job seriously. We can make a difference in a child's life."

 

With ever-increasing pressure to raise test scores, teachers may feel they have less time to reach out to students. It can be hard to show tolerance for students who are acting out and taking away valuable instruction time.

 

"The kids who are acting out and disrupting class are sometimes very traumatized kids," says Jan Murdock, a school psychologist at Sylmar High School. "Kids usually behave certain ways for a reason and may be in emotional distress."

 

When she worked at an elementary school, "almost every time I saw a kid get physically aggressive on the schoolyard, I found out the student was being physically abused at home or was the victim of a lot of corporal punishment. Sometimes we need to take another look at kids' behavior and ask, 'Why?' When kids have no one to talk to, they end up dropping out, joining gangs or possibly committing suicide."

 

Murdoch, a member of United Teachers Los Angeles, feels that the state has a financial responsibility to help districts provide more counseling resources and health services to students. She's distressed that so many school districts consider counselors and mental health workers to be expendable when it's time to make budget cuts.

 

It wasn't that long ago - after the Columbine shootings - that schools started adding counselors and psychologists on staff.

 

"But sometimes these things are like earthquakes," says Murdoch. "If you don't have one for a while, you may not think about it - until it happens again."