How to Counsel Grieving Students After the Death of a Teacher

The death of a teacher can prove a tragic loss for students in a school setting. Other teachers and school counselors should step in to help students grieve the loss of this teacher. The loss of someone beloved can have a traumatic impact on emotional and social stability within a school, according to the U.S. Department of Education. When helping students through the loss, other school staff should help stabilize the school environment by offering the appropriate support.

Instructions

• 1

  Prepare a statement. The information of the teacher's death will need to circulate the student body at the same time. The National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement states that by having a prepared statement, the school can assure that every student receives the same news. This statement should get read by individual teachers in small classrooms so that the groups of students can grieve and discuss the news in small groups.

• 2

  Establish a crisis response team. The U.S. Department of Education suggests forming a crisis response team for students who need to leave class because of grief. School counselors, social workers and psychologists should write a schedule for around-the-clock availability for students in the immediate aftermath of the death. The school should have an on-call number that the students can call after hours in case of special distress.

• 3

  Talk openly. The University of Buffalo counseling services states that you should allow students to talk openly about their grief. If the students want to discuss the incident in class, they should have the ability to do so. If the student wants to talk individually to a teacher or counselor about his grief, he should get to leave class in order to discuss his feelings.

• 4

  Identify emotional distress. Students should become aware of concerning emotional distress in themselves and others, according to the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement. The classrooms should pass out a list of problems that may require additional counseling such as cutting, suicidal thoughts and violent anger. If the students or their friends experience any of these, they should get instructed to report this to the crisis response team to avoid further tragedies in the school.