School District offers counseling services after student’s death

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DURANGO, Colo. – In the wake of the probable suicide of an area high school student, Durango School District 9-R will be offering professional grief-counseling support to students, staff, or anyone in the district who may need assistance. A letter has been sent home to all families at Durango High School that outlines the importance of seeking emotional support if needed. 

The tragedy initiated the district’s emergency response plan, a coordinated support system for students and staff with the following goals in mind:

1. To prevent additional suicides.  (Young people and adults who may be at-risk from depression or other emotional issues can be more susceptible to an attempt when someone they know has recently died.)
   
2. To help students, faculty, and support staff cope with the trauma and grief.
   
3. And to assist the school in returning to a normal routine.

Following the report of the suicide, school administrators and counseling staff met with students and staff who were acutely affected. The district also activated a grief-counseling plan that included the following:

·        Providing staff with information/suggestions on assisting students in coping.   

·        Establishing a crisis-counseling network with counselors from the school district, school based health clinic, and community agencies.

·        Ensuring that counselors were present in the classes where the student had been enrolled.

·        Maintaining an open door policy to the counseling office for any student and parent who needed support.

·        Ensuring peer helpers were immediately accessible for assistance in the counseling office and throughout the building.

In the next few days, Durango High School will work to simultaneously maintain a calm, supportive atmosphere, and to continue to provide counseling services. The school will balance post-event intervention services for those who need it without significantly interfering with classroom instruction.

The district encourages parents, students, staff or anyone with concerns, to visit  www.durangoschools.org for information to help individuals with the grieving process.  

 

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