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American Morning

Interview with Judy Madden

Aired October 18, 2002 - 07:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Here in Montgomery County, Maryland, teachers and parents and students getting a crash course in coping with fear. One way the public schools have responded, last night, the first time ever, they took it on cable television. They conducted a call-in show for anyone who had questions looking for answers.
Judy Madden, supervisor of the County School Counseling Services, is live with us this morning here in Rockville on AMERICAN MORNING.

Good to see you -- thanks for getting up early.

Questions last night from students, what did they want to know?

JUDY MADDEN, MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOL COUNSELING SERVICES: Students were really concerned about the cancellation of their activities, the cancellation of recess, the cancellation of games and activities for homecoming. That hurts kids.

HEMMER: Here's the impression I'm getting, though, Judy. It's not the kids so much who expressed the fear as so much as the parents. The parents have more concern about their children's safety. Do you get the same read?

MADDEN: I think the kids are less concerned about safety than they are about the disruption of their normal routines. We're trying to really, really communicate to the kids that there's a lot of adults keeping them safe, working hard to do that.

The parents, of course, have a different perspective and are very worried about their kids' safety, going to and from school and at school activities. And we're trying to get the word out to them, too, that we are working in tandem with the police. We're doing everything possible to keep our kids safe and on task for learning.

HEMMER: So, a 15-year-old young man or young woman comes to you and says, I want to play soccer again, and I can't right now. What do you say?

MADDEN: We emphasize and let them know, of course they're frustrated, and this is a very, very difficult time. And then, we try to do a lot of brainstorming with them about what can you do instead? If the soccer games are cancelled, which they are for now, how can you get your exercise, how can you still connect with your team, how can you hang out with your buddies, what else can you do that will help you get through this difficult time until the time when we're back on track again? HEMMER: Let's get a bit more specific. Apparently, there was a story relayed to you last night during this TV show, where a woman owned a gas station?

MADDEN: Right.

HEMMER: There were parents that had some students in the area.

MADDEN: Right.

HEMMER: What did they say?

MADDEN: Well, the student actually was the one on the air, and she talked about how frightened she was when the news came about the shootings in Montgomery County at the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) gas stations, and she knew her parents owned one.

The school staff was incredibly supportive. They let her touch base with her parents several times during the day. And her parents indeed reassured her that they were safe, that they were taking all precautions. And then, the school staff supported her through that day until she could get home and see for herself that her parents were fine.

HEMMER: Wow! Touching stories. Did it help last night?

MADDEN: Oh, I think it did help a lot, and we got some great calls and some great answers. And the community saw the really talented mental health professionals that are out there supporting our kids.

HEMMER: Thanks for your time.

MADDEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Will you do it again, quickly?

MADDEN: We may if we need to.

HEMMER: Let us know, OK? Judy Madden here in Montgomery County -- appreciate your thoughts this morning.

MADDEN: My pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired October 18, 2002 - 07:18   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Here in Montgomery County, Maryland, teachers and parents and students getting a crash course in coping with fear. One way the public schools have responded, last night, the first time ever, they took it on cable television. They conducted a call-in show for anyone who had questions looking for answers.
Judy Madden, supervisor of the County School Counseling Services, is live with us this morning here in Rockville on AMERICAN MORNING.

Good to see you -- thanks for getting up early.

Questions last night from students, what did they want to know?

JUDY MADDEN, MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOL COUNSELING SERVICES: Students were really concerned about the cancellation of their activities, the cancellation of recess, the cancellation of games and activities for homecoming. That hurts kids.

HEMMER: Here's the impression I'm getting, though, Judy. It's not the kids so much who expressed the fear as so much as the parents. The parents have more concern about their children's safety. Do you get the same read?

MADDEN: I think the kids are less concerned about safety than they are about the disruption of their normal routines. We're trying to really, really communicate to the kids that there's a lot of adults keeping them safe, working hard to do that.

The parents, of course, have a different perspective and are very worried about their kids' safety, going to and from school and at school activities. And we're trying to get the word out to them, too, that we are working in tandem with the police. We're doing everything possible to keep our kids safe and on task for learning.

HEMMER: So, a 15-year-old young man or young woman comes to you and says, I want to play soccer again, and I can't right now. What do you say?

MADDEN: We emphasize and let them know, of course they're frustrated, and this is a very, very difficult time. And then, we try to do a lot of brainstorming with them about what can you do instead? If the soccer games are cancelled, which they are for now, how can you get your exercise, how can you still connect with your team, how can you hang out with your buddies, what else can you do that will help you get through this difficult time until the time when we're back on track again? HEMMER: Let's get a bit more specific. Apparently, there was a story relayed to you last night during this TV show, where a woman owned a gas station?

MADDEN: Right.

HEMMER: There were parents that had some students in the area.

MADDEN: Right.

HEMMER: What did they say?

MADDEN: Well, the student actually was the one on the air, and she talked about how frightened she was when the news came about the shootings in Montgomery County at the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) gas stations, and she knew her parents owned one.

The school staff was incredibly supportive. They let her touch base with her parents several times during the day. And her parents indeed reassured her that they were safe, that they were taking all precautions. And then, the school staff supported her through that day until she could get home and see for herself that her parents were fine.

HEMMER: Wow! Touching stories. Did it help last night?

MADDEN: Oh, I think it did help a lot, and we got some great calls and some great answers. And the community saw the really talented mental health professionals that are out there supporting our kids.

HEMMER: Thanks for your time.

MADDEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Will you do it again, quickly?

MADDEN: We may if we need to.

HEMMER: Let us know, OK? Judy Madden here in Montgomery County -- appreciate your thoughts this morning.

MADDEN: My pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.