A graduate of St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI, and the California School of Professional Psychology, Father Jay Fostner served as St. Norbert’s vice president of mission and student affairs for many years. Father Jay Fostner, having had to guide the college through several student deaths, wrote a chapter for a book called “The Death of a Student: Lessons from a Catholic Campus.”
The death of a student can have a profound impact on a learning institution. As a teacher or administrator, one of your first goals should be to get all the correct information about the student’s passing. Members of the school will expect you to provide information and that information must be as accurate as possible.
Next, making guidance counselors available to help grieving students is another key part of the process. Students should be encouraged to reach out, and all the resources they need should be made accessible to help them cope through this difficult time.
Last, be careful about making assumptions. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking the students who were closest to the deceased will be the most strongly affected. A fellow student’s death can be a traumatic experience for the entire student population, and the event can also precipitate strong feelings in students already dealing with grief.
