Local school holds mental health assembly for kids after mass shooting in Texas
PHILADELPHIA - The KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy in North Philadelphia had a mental health assembly planned for its students on Wednesday. Now, one day after the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, the assembly seems more necessary than ever.
Hundreds of kids gathered in the auditorium Wednesday afternoon for a therapeutic jam session with entertainer and producer, Amir Rogers. During the assembly, Rogers preached focus and encouraged the students to choose their friends wisely.
10-year-old Kenneth Faulkner, a fifth grader at KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy, says he's more aware of his surroundings more than ever.
"You gotta watch your back, you gotta watch what you do, what you think about, and you gotta watch where you're at," said Faulkner.
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School Counselor, Tara Stanley, joined the kids on the dance floor so that the kids could see that she is there for them, especially now, as the world grieves the tragic loss of 19 elementary school kids and two adults.
"This is hard," said Stanley. "Sometimes you don't know what to say. Sometimes you don't know what to so. Sometimes, it's more powerful and impactful just to be there, to be a consistent person in a young person's life, so that they can understand that they are not alone."
Students in North Philadelphia are wary of gunfire in their own communities, but now, some students are considering what they would do in situations like the Texas tragedy.
Faulkner's older sister, Naima, says that she might have tried to talk sense into the shooter.
"I would go up to everybody that has a gun and is ready to shoot somebody and I would say, ‘Think about your family.’ And if they have children I would say, ‘Think about your children, what are they gonna say?’" Naima said.
As conscientious as the student body at KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy is, a lot of the students say they don't want to walk around afraid all the time. The students say they are going to continue to get up in the morning and show up to school, every day.