By Paul Shapiro
The elementary school’s principal, Erin Malone, and psychologist, Dr. Karen Mackler, were at the scene of the fatal fire on Feb. 19 and haven’t stopped working since.
“It’s a very, very big tragedy and we’re all supporting each other,” Mackler said. “We understand that different things trigger different people and it’s been very difficult for all the kids.”
Classmates of the victims have been offered grief counseling since the fire. Dr. Annette Szafranski, director of Pupil Personnel Services for the Lawrence School District, remains encouraged by her staff’s preparedness for an incident like this. “When I heard about the terrible tragedy, the e-mails and the phone calls from my staff and from the community were absolutely amazing,” Szafranski said. “The calls I got from the other psychologists, it was just remarkable. Everyone was so willing to pitch in and help. People were on vacation and they volunteered to come in and help. They wanted to be there to help when everyone returned from vacation.”
The district was able to mobilize its entire staff, from psychologists to guidance counselors to teachers, in order to prepare for the Monday following the fire. They were especially concerned about the Number Six School and the Lawrence Middle School, which each had a surviving child escape from the suspicious fire, Szafranski explained. The blaze is still under investigation, according to fire officials.
“We were a little more concerned about the Number Six School because that’s where the victims were from,” Szafranski said. “We did and continue to do everything we can to help everyone through this tough time.”
Szafranski met with the Number Six School staff early Monday morning, after returning from vacation, to prepare them for the days to come. As the day went on, Mackler and fellow psychologists Dr. Anthony Procaccino visited all the school’s classrooms to meet with students and explain exactly what went on. “A lot of the kids didn’t know what happened until that Monday,” Mackler said.
The school psychologists have also been speaking with the students about smoke detectors and what they can do if they are ever affected by a fire. “We try to get as much factual information out as possible because kids worry,” Mackler said. “We talk about the facts. The kids are becoming more aware and want to know how they can be even more aware. A lot of the kids are talking about stop, drop and roll. They go home and check their smoke detectors to make sure they will be safe if something like this tragedy happens to them.”
A special room was set up at the school in case a child or staff member needed to speak to someone at any point during the day. This remains the case as the district wants to give its students and staff as much time as needed to mourn the loss. “You can’t put a time limit on this,” Szafranski said. “Grief is so personal. I think it’s going to take a lot of time and we’re going to offer the school as much support as they need for as long as they need it.”
The children at the school have also engaged in various activities, including a school-wide collage for the deceased, as well as involving the students in writing activities and creating memory boxes for those lost. “I think we’re dealing as best we can,” Mackler said. “We’re trying to do business as usual. We’ve been making classroom presentations since the kids love to hear about Leonel and how the family is doing well. We’re answering questions, we’re there. Just being there, being present, being around and visible is important. We’re just being present, stopping in at the classrooms everyday.”
Mackler, who has been in the district for 20 years, has never dealt with anything to this extent. “Nothing to this degree,” she said. “There have been deaths in families, but this is certainly different. Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with something to this magnitude.”
She said she thinks it may take some time for this tragedy to completely sink in. “Like any other trauma, there are times when something will become more salient,” Mackler said. “For example, when we do our moving up ceremony I know that the kids will be thinking about the kids because both children would have been going through the moving up exercise.”
With the wake, funeral services and burial taking place in the past week, the school will continue to provide counseling for anyone in need. Leonel, 9, and Manases, 12, are planning on returning to class this week, according to Mackler. She has seen Leonel several times since the incident and said she plans to meet with him upon his return to school. “He has a very, very supportive family and friends,” Mackler said. “They are all there and supportive. It’s very heartwarming.”
Many members of Pupil Personnel Services within the district said they hope the community continues to show its support for the family. “The community response has been wonderful,” Mackler said. “We’re very appreciative that the community hasn’t stopped asking, ‘What can we do?’”
“It just showed me how caring our community is,” Szafranski agreed. “Sometimes tragedy brings out the best in us and we pull together. That’s what was clear in Lawrence.”
Comments about this story? PShapiro@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 201.
