Teaching After Tragedy: Communicating Care and Supporting Students
In the wake of last weekend’s violence, our campus community returns to classrooms carrying grief, worry, and unanswered questions. Many students were directly impacted. As a community, we are collectively grieving profound loss while others heal. Some students may process this tragedy in ways not immediately visible.
Faculty and instructors play a vital role in supporting students. Teaching after a tragedy doesn’t require having the right words or all the answers. What matters most is approaching students with care, clarity, and humanity.
The two resources below may help as you navigate conversations with students, make instructional decisions, and care for yourself.
Communicating Care and Referring for Teaching During Times of Crisis
This resource focuses on immediate post-crisis communication, and offers guidance on how to:
- Acknowledge what happened in clear terms, while recognizing students may respond differently and on different timelines.
- Listen and validate students’ experiences with compassion, without asking for personal details.
- Lead with care and model a calm, grounded presence in the classroom.
- Maintain role-appropriate boundaries by staying within your role as an instructor and referring students to support services rather than attempting to provide counseling.
- Recognize when students may need additional support and connect them to campus or college level (if applicable) resources.
The document includes example language for communicating with students and reminders that there’s no single “right” response.
Teaching in Times of Crisis: Course Facilitation
This longer resource provides a broader framework for adapting teaching during and after a crisis. Grounded in care-centered and resilient pedagogy, it includes suggestions for how to:
- Balance learning with wellness.
- Make thoughtful adjustments to class meetings, deadlines, and course timelines.
- Check in with students to reduce barriers to learning and restore agency.
- Offer alternate course content and facilitate difficult discussions with care.
- Maintain flexibility around attendance and late work without requiring students to share personal details.
- Attend to your own wellbeing and use campus resources.
This guide is not meant to be used all at once. You may find it helpful to return to different sections over time as students’ needs and your own evolve.
A Note of Support for Faculty and Instructors
Supporting students after a tragedy can be emotionally demanding, especially if you are personally affected or are holding space for repeated, difficult conversations. It is okay to keep your message simple, pause or redirect overwhelming discussions, and lean on campus partners for support. You are not expected to do this alone.
We encourage you to use these resources in ways that feel appropriate for your course context. Small acts of care can make a meaningful difference for students during this time.
Thank you for the care, steadiness, and compassion you bring to our classrooms and community.
UT’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides free and confidential counseling for benefits-eligible faculty and staff. EAP counselors are available for your own support, as well as for consultation if you’d like to talk through how to support students or these resources further. Same-day virtual and in-person appointments are available. Call 512-471-3366 or email eap@austin.utexas.edu to schedule, or access 24/7 counseling at 512-471-3399.