Our media is flooded with images and stories coming out of Ukraine right now, and students may have questions, or need help thinking and talking critically about the information they are getting. These are general resources for engaging in conversations about harmful situations and news, with more specific resources to come as they are available. Our community is impacted on many levels by events around the globe, and yet it is important for us to help students understand that our neighbors are still our neighbors. The people of our community are still of our community, and it is our privilege and responsibility to look out for one another.

Curiosity and Questions: A presentation (and great dictionary of terms) from the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

Helping Children Cope with Frightening News, a website from Child Mind Institute

When Bad Things are Happening, an article from Teaching Tolerance

Parent and Caregiver Resources, a toolkit from the ADL

9 Healthy Ways to Communicate, 9 strategies for sustaining and deepening conversation from educator and film maker, Lee Mun Wah

Saying no to a bully and to bullying begins with reporting! Students are free to report bullying anonymously by using this online form. Every report will be reviewed by Mrs. Kosmala, Ms. Nelson, and Mr. Newsome. In many cases, students will be talked with to get more information or to simply share the report. 

Students who are experiencing teasing or bullying need to be encouraged to reach out to their trusted adults for help. Parents, teachers, counselors, and your principals are here to help. Ask for time to talk with any of us or complete the anonymous report and tell us you want to meet in the description.

Students and families can learn more about bullying here.

A little over 30 years ago, a Madison High School student named Joseph Janson had a simple wish. He wanted to go to a dance. But nothing was simple for Joseph, who was born with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and was confined to a wheelchair. 

He confided his wish to Tony Nitz, who at that time was an educational assistant at Madison (now Leodis V. McDaniel High School). Tony had been working one-on-one with Joseph for months and he immediately went about making the young man’s dream come true.

“The truth is, I would have done anything for Joseph,” Nitz said. “He was a unique person, and we had a very special bond.”

Madi Bourdon’s first book practically wrote itself. 

According to the Glencoe Elementary School counselor and Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) coordinator, it only took them an hour and a half to finish A Kid’s Book About Chosen Family, which came out this March with A Kid’s Co. publishing.

For the past three years, Alondra Nieves Barajas has been both student and teacher.

Most days, the senior from Roosevelt High School attends class, does her homework, and spends time with her friends just like any other 18-year-old. But on Wednesday nights, you can find her at the front desk, teaching adults – often much older than herself – the ins and outs of the United States naturalization test.

When Aaron Presberg first got the email from the White House, he thought it was some sort of prank. 

Then he shared the message with a few colleagues who assured him that it was no joke, and the exciting reality that he had been invited to Washington, D.C. to present at the White House’s first-ever Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K–12 School Buildings and Grounds started to sink in.