On the morning of Friday, September 29, John Klang, principal of Weston School in Cazenovia, WI was shot at school by a student and died later in the day from his injuries. Staff and students were present and involved in restraining the shooter and in giving emergency care to Principal Klang.

That same morning, a Weston HS student, Erik Fichtel, was killed in a car crash on his way to school. The school staff, students and community were traumatized by these events.

That weekend, Terry Milfred, Superintendent of the Weston School District, called Art Rainwater to request help for the Weston Schools. Art made MMSD staff available to assist the Weston Schools in their crisis recovery.

Weston is a small rural district of 400 students, K-12, located in the rolling hills of Richland and Sauk counties, 90 minutes west of Madison. On Monday morning, Ted Balistreri, MMSD Coordinator of School Security Services - slated to retire on October 1, Luis Yudice, incoming Coordinator of School Security Services and I traveled to Cazenovia to assist the Weston District. When we arrived at Weston, it was an incongruous picture — the low brick building sitting on a hill surrounded by corn and hay fields, with vans with satellite dishes and reporters parked on the perimeter.

The school was in a state of disorganization. School board members, teachers and other staff, volunteers from other schools and the community, grieving parents and students, a crisis coordinator from the Department of Justice, Bill Bond - the National School Administrators' Resident Practitioner for Safe Schools, and media reporters all milled around.

Supt. Milfred was barraged with questions and requests for direction. Bill Bond was offering advice and consultation. The crisis responder from D.O.J was organizing the counselors. There was no central point of coordination, yet there was much to be done. No one had prior experience dealing with a situation like this.

The task of the MMSD team, coming in as outsiders to assist this traumatized school community, was delicate. While we had an excellent resource in the MMSD Crisis Response Manual, we did not have a guidebook for how to assist another school district in responding to and recovering from such a terrible crisis.

We had to assess what needed to be done and how to go about helping the Weston staff, and do it in a way that reflected their school culture and values, and their way of doing things. We needed to keep in mind that we were guests in their school and it was not our crisis. It was theirs.

We needed to identify the leadership team, support them in developing a plan, provide consultation on recommended practice, and facilitate the coordination and delegation of areas of responsibility by the Superintendent. Ted and Luis, with their experience in law enforcement and crisis response, handled this task with strength and sensitivity. I worked with the Weston psychologist to plan and organize a school-wide brief, crisis counseling and assessment for students and staff upon their return. On Thursday of that week, a team of ten MMSD Student Services staff—Kristen Guetchow, Pat Henner, Michelle Marking, Kim Miller, Peg Murray, Sara Parrell, Mary Seidl, Lonna Stolzfus, Dennis Whitish and Karen Windels—joined a group of counselors in a day of crisis counseling, classroom support and assessment of need for follow-up. Click here for reflections by staff about the day.

I believe our MMSD team served an invaluable purpose for Weston. How difficult it is to do the work necessary for recovery when one is struggling with shock and grief. We supported the steps needed for recovery.

When the sentiment of some teachers was, "We can just send the students who we think are having problems for crisis counseling," we were able to say "every student needs to be assessed and to have a chance to speak with someone." And we said, "Every staff person needs time to speak with someone about how they are doing."

We found students and teachers who really needed to have follow-up. One teacher was afraid to be alone, even when driving or at home. Another was racked with guilt over decisions he had made. Another had so many things on her plate before the tragedy that one more overwhelmed her. We found students who were really angry, and who themselves had been taunted by others and were at risk for violence. We found others who were exhibiting acute stress.

We made a list of individuals needing follow-up for the school psychologist; we provided names of community resources; and we problem solved with staff about how to cope in the weeks to follow.

At the end of the week I was emotionally drained, yet at the same time, I was emotionally filled up.

I am proud to be part of a school district like Madison that employs individuals with the professional knowledge and skills to do this work and with the heart to help other districts in times of need.

Weston High School students and staff on the first day of school after the tragedy. Everyone wore a blue t-shirt with the Superman-type logo but with a "W", and the words "John Klang is my Hero". "This really brought the school together as a part of their healing, said Kathy Halley, one of the MMSD staff members who provided crisis recovery support to Weston students and staff in the days following the shooting.