What Okemos students, parents can expect as classes resume Thursday

MERIDIAN TWP. — Okemos teachers and students can expect to find counselors, additional mental health resources and an increased police presence when they return to school for the first time since a fake report of a shooting at the high school prompted the district to close all schools Tuesday.

The district plans to resume classes Thursday, but officials said they recognize returning will be difficult for some students and staff.

“These events are traumatic for our students, and our staff and our families,” Superintendent John Hood said during a Tuesday press conference after the high school was cleared of students.

One expert said despite the incident being a hoax, children may exhibit some of the same responses as people who have experienced a school shooting.

The Meridian Township Police Department will assign extra officers to drive through school parking lots Thursday and greet the students and staff, especially during student drop-off and pickup times, Meridian Township Police Capt. Rick Grillo said. The school resource officer will also be at the school as usual, he said.

Hood did not return calls or emails requesting comment Wednesday. Board of Education President Mary Gebara could not be reached for comment.

Molly Gabriel-Champine is a psychologist with McLaren Health Care.

Even though the threat of a school shooter proved to be a hoax, the reported threat could be a terrifying experience for many students, especially considering the age of some of the children, Gabriel-Champine said.

And the fear could have lasting impacts on students moving forward. It wouldn’t be uncommon for some to appear more anxious and nervous, have difficulty sleeping, to be hyper-focused on the threat and talk about it nonstop or completely avoid the subject, she said.

Some children may feel too scared to return to school and exhibit symptoms like headaches and stomachaches in hopes of going home, Gabriel-Champine said.

“For most middle-aged through high school kids, they’ve been inundated, they’ve seen news articles, we’ve had very traumatic shootings in our state,” she said. “Being aware that can happen to them and thinking that this is in the process of happening, it can have the same response in some individuals as somebody who had gone through a school shooting.”

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The best way teachers and school officials can support students as they return to school is to normalize those feelings of fear and anxiety, talk about those feelings and listen to students if they have a bad reaction, Gabriel-Champine said.

Parents can do much of the same when they have their children at home. They can speak with their children about what happened, normalize routines at home and make it a safe place for their children to share their feelings, she said.

Offering mental health services for students, staff and families is a great first step to recovering and moving on from this incident, said Arash Javanbakht, a psychiatrist and director of the Stress, Trauma and Anxiety Research clinic at Wayne State University. After that, it's crucial for students and staff to return to their normal routines to help bring the feeling of normalcy back.

"Whether it was social life, or the school, or the classes, or the exercise and working out − the faster we can get back to our routines in life … that will help in coping with this kind of stress," he said.

Ingham Intermediate School District Superintendent Jason Mellema said he has been working with Okemos Public Schools and offering staff members support and working to make sure the district has enough counselors and social workers on hand when students return.

About 20 ISD employees were at the schools on Wednesday as Okemos staff, students and parents were able to come and speak with counselors. On Thursday, another six to 10 counselors and staff from area school districts will be in Okemos to assist, he said.

Okemos High School students and staff were evacuated Tuesday morning after someone called 911 and reported a student was shooting. All Okemos Public Schools were placed on lockdown and were closed for the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday.

Police determined there was no shooting or any other kind of violence, and an investigation is ongoing to find the person responsible for the bogus emergency call to 911. Similar phone calls, referred to as "swatting," were made to more than eight other school district across Michigan.

The FBI is involved in the investigation of incidents in Michigan.

Mellema and Javanbakht both credited law enforcement and school district staff for their response to the threat.

"There are heroes among us who worked yesterday to make sure everyone was safe," Mellema said. "It's a community effort."

Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.