Helping Students Grieve From a Distance
Educators also need to be prepared for the fact that school closures may delay students’ ability to fully process a death in their school community.
Denial is a normal reaction to death, said Franci Crepeau-Hobson, a professor of school psychology at the University of Colorado Denver and a specialist on crisis response and intervention. Because students haven’t been in school—or at least in their school buildings—they may not fully comprehend the loss of a friend or teacher until they’re back in their physical classes and that person is not there.