DIXION, Illinois-- Parents and teachers from Dixon High School met at the Historic Dixon Theatre on Wednesday May 23, to learn how to help students process all they saw and heard when police say a fellow student came into the school and started shooting.
“(My daughter) saw the bullet holes patched up and that was really hard for her. She did not want to go back into the gym,” says Reni Whitcolbe.
The Illinois Education Association hosted a community screening of Paper Tigers, a movie about an alternative school that specializes in educating traumatized youth. The movie followed by a panel discussion was an effort to help the community cope with trauma.
Teachers say they know it is going to take time and patience.
“(My goal is) to realize that everyone is going to handle it differently but to just be there for them,” says Karen Chamberlain.
Parents and teachers from Dixon plan to continue working with the Illinois Education Association to bring more resources to the area in time for the next school year.