Classroom Teachers

Teachers, paraprofessionals, and other instructional staff

The Coalition to Support Grieving Students appreciates the important role that classroom teachers, including teachers, paraprofessionals, and other instructional staff, can play in supporting grieving students. This topic has rarely been part of professional training of school personnel or included as a component of continuing education offerings. This website was created to fill this gap.

The site covers a range of grief-related topics to provide training resources specially designed for school professionals, including brief video modules. Each video module is accompanied by a handout that summarizes the key points covered in the video; many of the modules are divided into several “chapters” so that you can watch part of the video and return to a subsequent chapter at a later time.

You may choose to view specific modules to answer questions you have about how to support a student in your class who has experienced a loss. We hope you will return to view additional modules and learn more about this important topic. These modules can also be used in learning groups or can be viewed as part of in-service training. There are also some additional materials, as well as links to other websites, that can be found in the Additional Resources section.

We will add more materials to the website over time, as well as periodically post special information after major national disasters or crisis events. Please feel free to contact us if you have suggestions for new topics or questions, or if you would like to speak with someone from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement for additional suggestions about how to support grieving students.