The Death of a Student
A death of a student, whether accidental, a suicide, or an anticipated death (i.e. long-term illness) makes a large impact on students and faculty at school. The school’s crisis team should be prepared to handle this sort of crisis in advance, as it will help to reduce trauma, and students who need support will be able to obtain it rather quickly. As for any crisis, when dealing with a student death, the team should first:
o Who is at the highest risk of trauma?
The next steps to dealing with this crisis would include:
§ Warning signs to look out for
§ Developmental stages of grief
§ The 5 stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Anger, Acceptance
§ How to help those who are grieving (what to say/do, etc.)
o Conduct classroom meetings and staff debriefing
o Protect staff and students from the media
o Triage and identify those who are most at risk
§ Emotional and physical proximity
§ High risk children (i.e. children with disabilities or mental illness)
o Respect diverse cultures in regards to death and grief
o Individual counseling if necessary for certain students
o Refer out students for more intense psychotherapy if they are not being assisted with primary and secondary interventions
o Recognize that grief manifests itself differently depending on age and developmental level, as well as cognitive ability
o Keep service brief and developmentally appropriate
o Involve students in planning the memorial, i.e. reading poems, stories, playing music, etc.
o Invite family members and members of the community, as appropriate
o If parents do not want their children to attend, have something else fun and appropriate for the students to do instead
o Do not hold a memorial for a death by suicide, as it sensationalizes the death and may cause suicide contagion
o Respect the wishes of the family and be sensitive to cultural norms and traditions of the family
- Convene the crisis team
- Verify the facts
- Assess the affect of the crisis
o Who is at the highest risk of trauma?
- Notify staff members and have staff meeting as soon as possible
- Deliver facts to students via a script read by teachers
- Limit information if it is a death by suicide
- Communicate with parents and community members through a letter sent home or electronically, if deemed appropriate by the family who has suffered the loss
The next steps to dealing with this crisis would include:
- Primary interventions for staff and students
§ Warning signs to look out for
§ Developmental stages of grief
§ The 5 stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Anger, Acceptance
§ How to help those who are grieving (what to say/do, etc.)
o Conduct classroom meetings and staff debriefing
o Protect staff and students from the media
o Triage and identify those who are most at risk
§ Emotional and physical proximity
§ High risk children (i.e. children with disabilities or mental illness)
o Respect diverse cultures in regards to death and grief
- Secondary and Tertiary Interventions
o Individual counseling if necessary for certain students
o Refer out students for more intense psychotherapy if they are not being assisted with primary and secondary interventions
- Continue to triage and identify those most at risk/having a harder time dealing with the crisis/trauma event
o Recognize that grief manifests itself differently depending on age and developmental level, as well as cognitive ability
- Consider holding a memorial within one week of the death
o Keep service brief and developmentally appropriate
o Involve students in planning the memorial, i.e. reading poems, stories, playing music, etc.
o Invite family members and members of the community, as appropriate
o If parents do not want their children to attend, have something else fun and appropriate for the students to do instead
o Do not hold a memorial for a death by suicide, as it sensationalizes the death and may cause suicide contagion
o Respect the wishes of the family and be sensitive to cultural norms and traditions of the family
- As a mental health care provider, make sure your own needs are being met, and continue self-care. Seek out additional help from outside resources if need be. You can’t be a great help to others if you don’t help yourself first.
Resources
For each resource, hover your pointer over the article and a scroll bar will appear on the right side of it. You can then scroll through each article to the very end. There are also copies of each resource to download at the very bottom of each page.
Dealing with Death at School:
Sample Letters to Parents When There is a Death of a Student:
Memorials/Activities/Rituals Following Traumatic Events:
Memorial Activities at School - Do's and Don'ts:
Stages of Grief - Infancy through Adulthood:
Developmental Understanding and Reactions to Death:
Feel free to download your own copies of these documents below:
dealing_with_death_at_school.pdf | |
File Size: | 69 kb |
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sample_letters_to_parents_death_of_student.docx | |
File Size: | 123 kb |
File Type: | docx |
nasp_memorial_activities_handout.pdf | |
File Size: | 72 kb |
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memorial_dos_and_do_nots.pdf | |
File Size: | 43 kb |
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stages_of_grief.docx | |
File Size: | 146 kb |
File Type: | docx |
student_reaction_to_death.jpg | |
File Size: | 2226 kb |
File Type: | jpg |