New Grief Education Implementations For Students

In the United States almost one in 20 children will lose a parent by age 16, and most children will experience the loss of a family member or friend by the time they graduate high school, according to the Coalition to Support Grieving Students. During the pandemic, COVID-19 escalated those statistics drastically, causing more than 140,000 children to lose a primary or secondary caregiver during 2021 alone. According to the same coalition, educators are in a unique position to offer profound support and guidance to these children and their families in a time of crisis.

As the de facto social support structure for children that our nation leans on, our public school systems are already strained to their limits. They are struggling to provide a quality education while dealing with meager (and dwindling) budgets and the steady loss of quality educators to more supportive employment fields. Nonetheless, advocates are successfully pushing for grief education within our schools to help provide a more solid foundation for the thousands of children who are (or will be) coping with loss.

What Is Grief Education?

Grief education programs will inevitably differ across the country, but most will have these core aspects: training educators and school administrators how to recognize a grieving student and subsequently play a role in helping them process and cope; providing a safe space for students to discuss loss and grief; and introducing a basic understanding of the bereavement process.

According to K-12 Dive, a website providing in-depth journalism and insight into news and trends shaping our nation’s educational systems, there are five recommended best practices for embedding bereavement and grief support in schools:

• Understand grief and bereavement, and subsequently allow for supportive accommodations (counseling, native language support, work load adjustments, and safe spaces)
• Train all school staff in grief support measures as part of their professional development. This includes training staff and teachers on how to potentially recognize a grieving student.
• Provide age-appropriate support
• Leverage relationships with local partners such as non-profit organizations 
• Ensure staff have support, too

Current Implementations

New Jersey was the latest state to mandate grief education as part of their standards for health and physical education, with a new law passed by unanimous vote in December 2023. Lessons will focus on the physical, emotional, and behavioral signs of grief and how to help those who are dealing with loss. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in a statement that ″it is my hope that prioritizing the teaching of grief and loss in schools will provide students with the tools and resources they need to cope with the challenges of life.” 

In Texas, the Dallas Independent School District ramped up their efforts to offer programming and support for grieving students as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They provided grief support training to all clinical staff and included it in professional development for teachers. They also partnered with the Dallas-based Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to help with training and counseling support. The district is also implementing an app called GreenLight Balance to develop a QR code students can scan to access grief-related support if they don’t want to turn to a school-based adult.

The White Cloud Junior/Senior High School in Minnesota has also joined the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative, a project spearheaded by the New York Life Foundation. The initiative provides free presentations for school staff and an assortment of videos and educational materials free to the public. (Click on the link to find out more about joining the initiative and becoming a Grief-Sensitive School.)

Why is Grief Education Important?

Grief plays a huge role in our ability to function normally, and can subsequently wreak havoc on the education and social development of a child. Students who are grieving can experience decreased appetite and ability to concentrate, and they may withdraw socially, according to the National Association of School Psychologists. Shame and guilt are also common reactions among younger bereaved children, and are important to recognize before they are internalized.

Because children are in school for so much of their daily lives, the school becomes the best place to recognize and address these issues. As Tracey Brown, the Dallas Independent School District’s executive director of mental health services told K-12 Dive, “We need our teachers and staff to be the eyes and ears for us. Many of our kids are coming to school daily struggling with grief and trauma for various reasons. They are just trying to figure out, ‘What do I do with this?’”

Educators and staff can help young children understand what has happened and provide skills and resources to cope. Older students can receive vital support from adults or peers, as long as those people are prepared to provide it. Yes, our school systems are strained as it is, but we would be derelict in our duties if we neglected to provide this essential aspect of education.