School Crisis Response Plan

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National Educational Service GS–157

Appendix B

School Crisis

Response Plan

The School Crisis Response Plan is the third component of the RY program, along with the RY curriculum and social activities and school bonding. Many high-risk youth experience depression and may have or develop suicidal tendencies. To support these youth, a school needs to be prepared to identify a youth in crisis and intervene during a suicidal crisis. To support the school community, a school also needs to be able to respond with a post-suicide intervention if a student or another member of the school community commits suicide. The RY School Crisis Response Plan prepares school staff members to identify and respond to a student who is suicidal or to respond if a student or staff member dies by suicide. This appendix provides the following materials:

School Crisis Response Plan Checklists . . . GS-158 Preliminary Preparation . . . GS-158

Implementing a Crisis Plan Preventing Suicide

Implementation of Plan . . . GS-160 Responding to a Suicide or an Accidental Death

Post-Crisis/Suicide Interventions . . . GS-162

School Crisis Response Plan Support Material . . . GS-163 Preparation

Sample Faculty Education Sessions . . . GS-163 General Guidelines for Teachers . . . GS-165

Intervention

How to Identify and Help Suicidal Youth . . . GS-167 How to Intervene With a Suicidal Youth . . . GS-169

Post-Suicide Intervention

Sample “Empty Chair” Session . . . GS-171 Sample Announcement to Faculty . . . GS-178 Sample Announcement to Students . . . GS-179 Sample Announcement to the Media . . . GS-179 Sample Record-Keeping Worksheet . . . GS-180

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Preliminary Preparation

KEY

P Principal CT Crisis Team C/N Counselor/Nurse T Teacher

Implementing a Crisis Plan

ACTION

RESPONSIBILITY

Annually P CT C/N T

___ 1. Review and update Crisis Response Plan. * * * *

___ 2. Review district procedure for responding to a suicide threat or attempt. * *

___ 3. Update relevant checklists to be consistent with current procedure. *

___ 4. Update the school’s Crisis Response Plan telephone tree. *

___ 5. Review role assignments and revise as needed. *

___ 6. Update handouts that may be used. *

___ 7. Update Community Referral Resource List. *

___ 8. Conduct drills to ensure everyone understands the rules. *

___ 9. Distribute updated copies of the Crisis Response Plan to designated areas. *

___ 10. Provide a suicide prevention and crisis response in-service for faculty *

(see “Sample Faculty Education Sessions” on page GS-163).

Each Semester

___ 1. Update school list of high-risk students. *

___ 2. Identify students who exhibit depressed or emotionally uncontrolled * *

behavior.

___ 3. Determine who knows students best and the appropriate actions to take * *

in a crisis, including parent notification.

*The asterisks indicate who is responsible for each task item. When there is only one asterisk in the columns for an item, it identifies the individual who has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the task is done. When there are two or more asterisks in the columns for an item, they indicate that those individuals will likely need to collaborate to complete the task, but none of these individuals will have sole responsibility for the task.

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Preliminary Preparation (continued)

KEY

Preventing Suicide

ACTION

RESPONSIBILITY

Ongoing Assessment, Reporting of Suicide Threats or Attempts P CT C/N T

___ 1. Report to principal, counselor, or nurse any written or verbal suicidal threat. * * *

___ 2. Assess the current level of suicide risk (see “General Guidelines for *

Classroom Teachers,” “How to Identify and Help Suicidal Youth,” and “How to Intervene With a Suicidal Youth” on pages GS-165 through GS-170).

___ 3. If concerned for students’ imminent safety, then:

___ Notify parents and suggest resources for immediate follow-up. *

___ Provide support and maintain communication with student. *

___ Instill sense of hope. * *

___ Contact Emergency Services (dial 911) or a mental health *

professional for advice or response if needed. ___ 4. If not concerned for students’ imminent safety, then:

___ Obtain “no-harm” promise from the student and express caring. *

(The value of this promise depends on the relationship you have with the student.)

___ Negotiate to involve family for support of “no-harm” promise. *

___ Help extend sources of support. *

___ Provide support. *

___ Instill sense of hope. *

___ Provide follow-up to monitor “no-harm” promise and provide *

counseling services as needed (See “How to Identify and Help Suicidal Youth” and “How to Intervene With a Suicidal Youth” on pages GS-167 through GS-170).

Getting Started

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Implementation of Plan

KEY

Responding to a Suicide or an Accidental Death

ACTION

RESPONSIBILITY

P CT C/N T

___ 1. Gather information about the crisis and decide which steps to take. *

___ 2. Convene Crisis Response Team to: *

___ Review facts. * *

___ Develop action plan. * *

___ Develop a fact sheet for dissemination. * *

___ Secure outside resources as needed (substitutes, other district * *

support, community support).

___ 3. Contact deceased person’s family to: *

___ Offer condolences. *

___ Inform about the school’s Crisis Response Plan. *

___ Review information to be released. *

___ Ensure they have the resources they need. *

___ 4. Put the school’s Crisis Response Plan telephone tree in motion. *

___ 5. Set up a command station for giving and receiving information. *

___ 6. Be prepared to respond to media (see “Sample Announcement to the *

Media” on page GS-179).

___ 7. Conduct an emergency staff meeting to share information, review *

procedures, and clarify roles.

___ 8. Distribute information to students, faculty, parents, and others (see sample *

announcements to faculty and students on pages GS-178 and GS-179).

___ 9. Attend emergency staff meeting. * * * *

___ 10. Ensure that all staff who do not attend emergency meeting receive *

factual information.

___ 11. Provide response scripts to office staff who frequently receive incoming *

calls and inquiries.

___ 12. Inform office manager to: *

___ Notify office aides of the emergency situation and review

emergency procedures with them.

___ Meet with any secretaries who were not at the staff meeting to

inform them of the situation.

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Implementation of Plan (continued)

KEY

ACTION

RESPONSIBILITY

P CT C/N T

___ 13. Inform head custodian to notify all custodians: *

___ Of the emergency situation.

___ To check all restrooms twice each period.

___ 14. Inform food service manager to notify food service personnel. *

___ 15. Advise PTSA officers to inform as many parents as possible, to schedule *

a parents’ meeting in the near future, or to do both activities.

___ 16. Review current list of high-risk students: * *

___ Monitor their attendance each period. * *

___ Ensure each student is contacted by an assigned staff member. * *

___ Ensure parents are contacted as needed. * *

___ Keep the command station informed of all actions and progress. * *

___ Keep notes on contacts with these students and any actions taken * *

(see “Sample Record-Keeping Worksheet” on page GS-180).

___ 17. Identify students who were close friends of the deceased person and are * *

likely to be affected:

___ Meet with close friends individually or in a group. * *

___ Contact parents of friends as needed. * *

___ Keep notes of concerns about and contacts with these students * *

(see “Sample Record-Keeping Worksheet” on page GS-180).

___ Inform the command station of all actions and progress. * *

___ 18. Meet with student leaders to review their roles. *

___ 19. Be available to other students who are experiencing difficulty. Meet with * *

them individually or in small groups.

___ 20. Ensure all staff have updated referral resources. *

___ 21. Notify parents when a referral is needed to a counseling professional in *

the community.

___ 22. If appropriate, meet with students who are attending the funeral to *

prepare them for the experience.

___ 23. Help students share the emotions they may feel and also understand that * * * *

a wide range of emotions may be appropriate in different settings.

___ 24. Identify students who are having a difficult time coping and have them *

accompanied to a counseling center.

___ 25. Gather in the faculty room to support each other throughout the day. * * * *

___ 26. Attend funeral, if possible. * * * *

Getting Started

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Post-Crisis/Suicide Interventions

KEY

ACTION

RESPONSIBILITY

P CT C/N T

___ 1. Review interventions taken and plan post-intervention activities: * *

___ Debrief crisis event.

___ Plan follow-up activities.

___ Report on and discuss the intervention at a faculty meeting to

debrief event.

___ 2. Facilitate 1-, 3-, and 6-week follow-ups: * * *

___ Remain alert to students who exhibit depressed behavior. *

___ Meet with close friends of the deceased. *

___ Meet with all students who have been identified as seriously *

affected by the death.

___ Meet with parents of the deceased and the group of parents *

who have been affected by the death.

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Sample Faculty Education Sessions

These sessions will (1) familiarize high school faculty and staff with information on youth suicide so that they have a better understanding of suicidal behavior and (2) prepare par-ticipants to respond to a suicidal crisis or an actual suicide of someone in the school com-munity. The sessions are presented in a lecture and discussion format using overhead visuals and handouts.

Session 1: Suicidal Youth and Youth Suicide

1. Introduce the presenter and topic.

2. Desensitize audience to the topic of suicide. 3. Discuss common myths about youth suicide.

4. Describe the general characteristics of suicidal youth. 5. Describe the early warning signs of suicidal risk.

6. Discuss the need to assess suicidal risk. Explain that one must ask directly about intent (for example, “Are you thinking about hurting yourself or killing yourself?”). Introduce the SLAP and DIRT models for assessing risk:

• SLAP: The items in this acronym help assess current threat. The greater these

factors, the greater the risk: S = Specificity of plan

L = Lethality of plan

A = Availability of proposed method

P = Proximity of helping resources is remote

• DIRT: The items in this acronym help assess current threat based on prior threats

or attempts. The greater these factors, the greater the risk: D = Danger of prior attempt was lethal.

I = Impression of youth that danger was high. R = Rescue was remote.

T = Timing was recent.

7. Provide general intervention and referral strategies. 8. Provide a question-and-answer opportunity.

Getting Started

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Session 2: School Crisis Response Plan

1. Introduce the presenter and topic.

2. Introduce and describe the school’s Crisis Response Plan. 3. Provide a question-and-answer opportunity.

General Guidelines for Teachers

When someone commits suicide, the emotional impact may seem overwhelming and can be difficult to understand and handle appropriately. You can help your students handle this difficult situation by using the following strategies for understanding suicide, helping students cope, and taking care of yourself.

Discussing Suicide

In the formal and informal conversations you may have with students and others affected by the suicide, keep the following strategies in mind and apply them as needed:

1. Avoid glamorizing suicide. Avoid making the person who died into a hero.

2. Emphasize that suicide is a choice that the person who died made and that no one else is responsible for that choice. The suicide is no one’s fault. It is important for students to be able to talk about any feelings of guilt they may have. Students with strong feelings of guilt should be referred to a trained professional who will help them explore those feelings.

3. A common tendency is to try to identify what caused the suicide, to identify who or what is to blame. Help students avoid blaming themselves, other students, the per-son’s family, or any other person. Do not encourage speculation about why a person committed suicide.

Helping Students Cope

1. Present the “Sample ‘Empty Chair’ Session” on page GS-171.

2. Following agreed-upon procedures that the school’s Crisis Response Team defined and distributed to all staff, acknowledge what happened and keep students accu-rately informed. Use your judgment to decide how much and what kind of sharing would be appropriate in your classroom.

3. If sharing occurs, stress that it is okay to feel and share a range of emotions. Encourage students to accept and support each other’s grief, whether or not it is directly related to the situation under discussion.

4. Encourage students to identify their support systems, both in and out of school, and to use these resources. (See the Skill 2 session in Personal Control, “Getting Support to Control Stress,” on page PC-77.)

5. Remain alert for signs of students who are having serious difficulty coping with the death. Have someone accompany these students to the counseling center. (See “How to Identify and Help Suicidal Youth” on page GS-167.)

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6. Reassure students. After a suicide, students may be afraid of their own or others’ suicidal tendencies. Stress that if students are worried about themselves or a friend, they should seek help from a trusted adult. Emphasize that suicide is not “conta-gious.” Others do not have to make this choice.

Taking Care of Yourself

1. Allow yourself to feel the wide range of emotions you may experience as you learn about and come to terms with the death. Seek out or arrange for support for your-self, as needed, before you meet with your classes. Be prepared to share some of your own grief as a way to help others share their grief.

2. Visit the faculty room as needed to receive and give support to other staff members throughout the day.

3. Identify a support person or several support people with whom you can talk, com-pare notes, and so forth.

4. Review the following support materials to enhance your feelings of competence and confidence:

• “How to Identify and Help Suicidal Youth” (page GS-167) • “How to Intervene With a Suicidal Youth” (page GS-169) • “Sample ‘Empty Chair Session” (page GS-171)

• “Sample Announcement to Students” (page GS-179)

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How to Identify and Help Suicidal Youth

A suicidal youth is a youth in crisis. The following seven strategies will help you identify sui-cidal youth, intervene in the crisis, and redirect the youth toward the help he or she needs.

1. Recognize the symptoms of a suicidal youth.

a. Threatens suicide (note the specificity and reality of the threat)

b. Describes plan or method to kill him- or herself (note the specificity and lethality of the threat)

c. Has threatened or attempted suicide in the past d. Shows signs of helplessness and hopelessness

e. Shows signs of serious depression, especially one that has lasted 2 or more weeks

f. Exhibits unexplained changes in behavior or serious mood changes

g. Is currently using drugs, drug use was involved in previous suicide attempt, or both situations exist

h. Has experienced an extreme recent loss, disappointment, or serious conflict involving family, friends, school, or a combination of those groups.

i. Has the factors that indicate a current threat (SLAP: specificity of plan, lethality of plan, availability of proposed method, and proximity of helping resources is remote)

j. Has an increased risk based on prior attempts (DIRT: danger of prior attempt was lethal, impression of youth that danger was high, rescue was remote, and

timing was recent)

2. Trust your judgment.

a. Act on your beliefs about the suicide risk or danger. b. Do not permit others to lead you to ignore signals. 3. Tell others.

a. Share your concern with those who can help.

b. Do not let the student talk you into keeping secrets. 4. Stay with a suicidal person.

a. Do not leave the youth alone if you believe the danger is immediate. b. Stay with the student until help arrives or the crisis passes.

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5. Listen intelligently.

a. Listen and express empathy.

b. Assure the student that there are alternatives. 6. Be supportive and respond positively.

a. Express your care for the student in words and actions.

b. Help the student feel worthwhile again by expressing positive attributes you have observed in him or her.

c. Express an invitation to life and hope to counteract the student’s invitations to death.

d. Stress that problems are opportunities for seeking alternative solutions and making choices.

e. Stress that suicide is not contagious. The student does not have to make this choice.

7. Urge professional help when necessary.

a. Pressure the student and his or her family to seek help from a professional. b. Encourage the student and family to continue with this help and therapy even if

it becomes a difficult process.

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How to Intervene With a Suicidal Youth

A suicidal crisis usually lasts only a short time. The goals of crisis intervention are to:

• Get the student through the crisis without harm. • Convey a sense of hope.

• Increase the student’s perception of alternatives. • Identify and mobilize resources.

• Empower the student (instead of adding to his or her feelings of helplessness). These goals can be achieved as you work through the following 10 steps.

Step 1: Assess the suicidal risk factors. (See SLAP and DIRT acronyms in the “Sample Faculty Education Sessions” on page GS-163.)

The greater the ability to describe plans of suicide, the greater the risk. The greater the incidence of prior suicidal behaviors or attempts, the greater the risk.

Step 2: Listen.

Really listen to hear what the student is saying. Show empathy for how the student feels. State your understanding of the student’s feelings and situation before engaging him or her in problem solving or before offering any advice. Make sure the student knows you know how he or she feels.

Step 3: Evaluate the seriousness of the student’s feelings.

A student can be extremely upset but not suicidal or can be suicidal even though he or she appears to be only mildly upset.

Step 4: Take every comment and feeling seriously.

Do not discount any of the youth’s concerns. Trust your judgment and do not let the stu-dent or others lead you to ignore the seriousness of the situation.

Step 5: Broaden the student’s perspective.

Begin to broaden the student’s perspective of his or her past and present situation, helping the student see his or her life in more hopeful terms.

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Step 6: Instill a sense of hope.

Be positive in your outlook on the future. Communicate this with statements that express the following ideas:

• “I think we can solve this situation.”

• “I know things seem pretty hopeless to you right now, but together I think we can find a way out of this situation for you.”

• “I don’t want you to kill yourself. I want you to live!”

Step 7: Increase the student’s perception of alternatives.

Help the student to increase his or her perception of alternatives to suicide.

Ask: “Do you really want to kill yourself, or do you want something to change?” Express hope: “Killing yourself is an irreversible solution. There are other solutions

to handling this situation and dealing with those things you want to change. Together, I think we can figure something out and find some help for you.”

Step 8: Act.

Act to make concrete plans to resolve the problem.

Step 9: Evaluate available resources.

Help the student identify and mobilize supportive resources, including friends, family, and mental health professionals.

Step 10: Get help.

Do not hesitate to get help or take the student to a place where help can be obtained. You can at least say with confidence: “I may not be able to help you with this, but I can get you help from someone who can!”

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SCHOOL CRISIS

RESPONSE PLAN

School Crisis Response Plan

Sample “Empty Chair”

Session

Overview

Summary

Through the sharing of information and class and small-group discussions, students learn about the situation and have opportunities to share their emotions and feel accepted.

Objective

1. Help students cope with the death of a classmate.

Preparations

1. Gather information on the student who died (who, what, when, and where) and on any planned memorial service or funeral.

2. Gather information on available resources for students. Be prepared to share names and numbers of those with whom students can talk, including staff members and counselors. Create a one-page sheet of information; make a copy for each student.

3. Consider your own feelings toward the situation and the student who died, and decide what you are willing to share with students. Remember that what you share will model for the students what they might share and how they might share it.

4. Review the process of grief. You may wish to briefly describe an example of how this process has occurred in your own life. If you do so, choose an example that could be relevant to the students but would not overwhelm them.

5. Be prepared to acknowledge the diversity of religious and philosophical belief systems about death, the afterlife, or what makes us mortal.

Materials

1. A box of facial tissues, pens and markers in various colors, paper for notes and let-ters, large envelope for collecting notes and letters

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Sample “Empty Chair” Session Plan

DISCUSSION

Share Information

As you may know, a student in our class, [student name], has died. The death was an apparent suicide. Because we knew [him or her], it’s only natural that we’ll have some very deep feelings about this death.

One of those feelings is a deep sadness about this sui-cide. We’ll need to help each other talk about our loss and our feelings.

We’ll spend some time today talking about what hap-pened, how we feel, and what we can do.

Let’s start with what happened.

Give the facts of the person’s death: who, what, when, and where (the how is not necessary).

Here’s what I know about how [student’s name] will be remembered.

Discuss any planned memorial or funeral services, or state that these arrangements are still being made and information will be shared as soon as it is known. Before we go on, do you have any questions or com-ments on what I’ve shared so far?

Dispel all rumors. Provide the facts or state that you will share the facts as soon as they are known.

Thank you for your comments and questions. I really appreciate your willingness to share with the class and work together to understand what has happened.

I would also like to reassure you that everyone in this school and in the school community is doing their best to make sure that you are safe.

Describe any existing and new policies and procedures for ensuring student safety.

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In addition, the school has identified a number of people who are available to you if you want to talk about this. Here are their names and how you can contact them.

List names and numbers on a flip chart page or give each student the sheet with this information.

You can also take part in individual and group counseling by contacting [give contact names and

information].

Are there any questions on how the school and com-munity are working together to ensure your safety?

Open answers.

Thank you for your comments. As with the other things we’ve discussed, when more information is available to me, I will share it with you.

Invite Discussion

In the following discussion, do not encourage specula-tion about why a person committed suicide. Instead, encourage students to express their feelings and stress the idea that whatever they are feeling is okay.

When you think about this death, you may feel many strong emotions and not know whether it’s okay to feel some of them. What we need to remember is that feelings are neither right nor wrong, good nor bad. It’s okay if someone feels angry and sad about a suicide, and it’s also okay if someone feels relief. Someone who feels relief might not have gotten along with the per-son who committed suicide or might have known that the person was struggling with some very difficult problems.

I encourage you to accept and support each other’s feelings of grief and any other feelings that might be expressed, such as anger or relief.

Feelings About the

Let’s spend some time hearing from each other. How

Student Who Died

do you feel about what has happened?

Acknowledge each student’s comments with a simple, brief statement that recognizes the validity of the stu-dent’s feelings.

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Encourage and invite all students to share, but respect those students who are unwilling to share at this time. It may be too difficult for them to talk about the strong feelings they are experiencing.

As students share their feelings, find opportunities to share the following key ideas:

Avoid Trying to

When a person commits suicide, those who knew

Place Blame

him or her often look for someone to blame. But it’s important to avoid blaming yourself, friends, the person’s family, or others. Suicide is a choice that the person who died made. No one else is responsible for that choice.

Suicide Is Not

There is nothing glamorous about suicide. Death by

Glamorous

suicide is a permanent way to cope with a problem. It doesn’t make a person into a hero or “prove” any-thing. When a person dies, there are no eyes to see with or ears to hear with. If you kill yourself, there is no way to “show” anyone anything. There are no guarantees of “joining” someone in an afterlife.

You Are Not

You may feel guilty about this death. You may think

Responsible for the

about something you said or did. Or you might

Suicide

think [student’s name] would be alive if you had said or done something. Whatever you did or did not do, it’s important to remember that suicide is a choice that [student’s name] made. No one else is responsible for that choice.

Feel Guilty? Talk to

If anyone is feeling guilty, it’s very important for you

Someone You Trust

to talk about it. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your feelings of guilt and cannot bring yourself to share them with the group, I urge you to talk with me outside of class. As we discussed before, it’s okay to feel what you’re feeling, but you don’t need to bear those strong feelings alone and in silence. Talk to us, talk to me, talk with someone you trust.

You may need to encourage and help some students get help if they are experiencing strong feelings of guilt.

Feelings About

One emotion you may be feeling is fear—not fear for

Yourself and Others

the person who died, but fear for your own or other’s RECONNECTING YOUTH

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suicidal tendencies. If you are worried about yourself or a friend, you should seek help from a trusted adult. Don’t decide to ignore these feelings and hope they’ll go away.

You should also understand that suicide is not conta-gious. You don’t have to make the choices that

[stu-dent’s name] made. You can find other solutions and

make other choices.

Praise, Summarize

I’m really proud of how honest and open you’ve been with your feelings—and of how supportive you’ve been with each other. This is a very difficult time, but we can draw strength and support from each other as we handle some very difficult emotions.

I also want to acknowledge that the feelings you’ve shared today, if you’ve shared with the group, are prob-ably only a few of the emotions you’re feeling right now. Our discussion is just one opportunity to share with each other. There will be others. You can also make opportunities of your own by seeking out a trusted adult when you need to talk.

Discuss the Grieving

From the moment we heard of [student’s name] death,

Process

we began what is called the grieving process. Although everyone will respond a little differently, there are a number of steps in the process that we will all experience.

One way of thinking about the grief process is described in a book called On Death and Dying. The book’s author, the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1969), has spent much of her life studying death and working with those who are dying. She has identified these five steps in the grief process:

1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance

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We are all likely to experience one or more of the first three steps—denial, anger, bargaining. What’s impor-tant to know about this process is that people usually don’t go through it in an orderly way. You will probably move from one stage to another and then back again. You will grieve for [student’s name] in your own way and in your own time.

However difficult or painful our feelings are now, we can find hope in knowing that we will eventually move through the grief process.

If you prepared a brief example of how the grief process has worked in your own life, share it at this time, making sure it is relevant to the students but does not overwhelm them. You could share the wide range of emotions you felt as a way to help students accept their own emotions.

GROUP WORK

Divide the class into groups of four or five students.

Take the next few minutes to share your feelings with the other students in your group. You might want to share more of your feelings in the smaller group.

Give students several minutes to share with each other. Monitor group activity and model supportive listening as needed.

Students Create Notes

Distribute markers, pens, and paper to each group.

and Drawings

Choose a pen and use the paper provided to write about what you are experiencing. Here are a few ways you can do this. You could write comments or a note of farewell to [student’s name]. You could write to the family. If you’re having a hard time finding words, you can draw how you’re feeling.

Give students several minutes to complete this task. Monitor their progress and provide support and encouragement as needed.

Collect Group Work

Place a large envelope within reach of the students.

When you’ve finished your note or drawing, please put it in this envelope so that it can be given to the family to show your care and concern for them.

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If you’re uncomfortable sharing your work with the family, that’s fine. Just give it to me directly.

Before sending materials to the family, carefully review them to remove any items that may be inappropriate.

SUMMARIZE LESSON

Assess Group Mood

Assess whether most of the class is ready to return to school work. If not, allow more time for group discus-sion. If so, refer those who are not ready to go on to the counseling center.

Stress Critical Features

Even though we’re returning to our regular school work, we will continue to need support and express our feelings about what this death means to us.

Some of us may need to talk a lot about this in the next few days or weeks. That’s fine. Others may need to qui-etly think about what has happened and share how they feel with a few close friends. That’s fine, too. The important thing is to remain open to what you’re feel-ing and to understand that your feelfeel-ings will change over time.

Remember, there’s nothing wrong with an emotion, with feeling one way or another. Not sharing our emo-tions can make our grieving process a lot more difficult because we won’t get the support we need.

Thank you for being so open and honest today, and for being so supportive of each other.

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Sample Announcement to Faculty

Our student, ____________________________, died last night of an apparent suicide.

At this time, the investigation is still continuing and funeral arrangements are

incomplete.

As we all knew ____________________________, it is natural that both faculty and

students will need to deal with some very intense feelings. Responding to a death

by suicide is not easy for any of us.

The Crisis Response Plan in our building is in place. Support personnel (the

inter-vention team) are in the counseling station and are available to talk with students

and faculty to help us cope with this loss.

If you would like to have a counselor or crisis team member talk to your class,

please request this support.

Please announce this death to your first-period class. All available information

should be given in a calm, direct manner. Answer questions and allow as much time

as needed to discuss feelings and reactions. If a student asks to join a group

con-ducted by the intervention team, or if you detect students who would benefit from

joining those groups, please allow them to do so.

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Sample Announcement to Students

One of our students, ____________________________, died last night [today,

yester-day]. The death was an apparent suicide. The investigation is in progress.

Because many of us knew ____________________________, it is only natural that we

will need to deal with some very deep feelings.

We are very saddened about this suicide, and we will need to help each other talk

about our loss and about our feelings.

Our counselors and our intervention team members are available to talk with

any-one who would like to meet with them. They are located in _____________________.

We will share information with you about the funeral when we receive it.

The family of ____________________________ needs to know that we care, but they

also need some privacy today.

Sample Announcement to the Media

Our crisis intervention team is responding to our request to help our students and

faculty cope with the shock and grief due to the apparent suicide of one of our

stu-dents, ____________________________.

Because we all knew ____________________________, it is natural that both faculty

and students will need to deal with some very intense feelings. Responding to a

death by suicide is not easy for any of us.

The intervention support team will work with the counselors and faculty in our

school to help students discuss their feelings and to help them cope with this loss.

If you want further information, please contact the principal of our building. Please

do not attempt to interview students or faculty at this time. We all need some

pri-vacy now in order to deal with our grief.

REPRODUCIBLE

SCHOOL CRISIS

(24)

Sample Record-Keeping Worksheet

Date:

____________________

School: ______________________________________________________________________________ Student name: ______________________________________________________________________ Time and length of contact: __________________________________________________________

Pertinent information:

____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

Parent contact and results:

____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

Suggestions for follow-up:

____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Completed by: ______________________________________________________________________