Broken Arrow Schools Partner With Therapists For Student Support

Broken Arrow Public Schools says it partners with therapists to offer resources to students when tragedy hits the community.

Two students lost their lives last month, and counselors say this can have a serious impact on other students.

The district partners with Daybreak Family Services to offer additional resources to students in need.

“When you’re in middle school, high school, especially elementary, you’re not thinking of death,” said Rebekah Taylor, executive director of Daybreak Family Services. “Sometimes, certain kids don’t know how to process that.”

Last week, a student was killed after she was shot in the head by another teenager. Taylor says in these tragic situations, students can feel an impact even if they didn’t directly know the classmate who died.

“Perhaps they’ve got younger siblings at middle schools or elementary schools, friends in different areas,” said Taylor. “It just turns out to be more widespread; that grief and the way it’s felt within the community.”

Daybreak Family Services partners with different Green Country school districts, including Broken Arrow. She says the most important thing for students struggling is to have someone there to listen to them.

“We have our embedded therapists within those schools,” said Taylor. “When there’s a crisis, we’re going to send out extra help. We’re going to take other therapists that we might have in other areas and send them out to the school to help.”

Taylor says the interest in therapy has been on the rise for students in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the stigma around going to therapy is dwindling for students.

She wants parents to know that resources are available to any student in need. You can reach out to your school’s counseling office or call the mental health hotline at 9-8-8.