Webinar: The Grief Remains – Leading with a Grief-Informed Lens in a Post-Pandemic World

Approximately 3.3M Americans died of all causes in 2020, a 15 percent increase in the age-
adjusted death rate over that of 2.8M in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has now officially been
identified as the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020 (Ahmad FB, et al,
2021) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is estimated that In the United
States every death from COVID-19 will leave approximately nine family members bereaved
(Verdery et al, 2020). Considering that the death toll has surpassed 550,000 people, over five
million people will experience the deaths of a family members, from COVID-19 alone.

We are thus entering into a time of more exposure and awareness of grief and loss than any
time in recent memory. Although various types of kin loss at all ages are detrimental for children
and adolescents, parental and grandparental death can lead to particularly adverse outcomes.
In addition to the risk of poor mental health associated with grief and bereavement, losing family
members and school personnel, all of whom represent key sources of social support can also
fundamentally alter student’s access to economic security and educational success.

In this workshop, we will explore strategies for leading with a grief-informed lens in a post-
pandemic world. How can schools, organizations, and communities continue to be attentive to
the realities of the grief that remains? What are the tenants of grief-informed leadership? How
can we ensure that the needs of grieving children and their families are being met? These
questions will be explored, along with practical tips for supporting the children, adolescents,
families, colleagues, and friends who surround you.

Learning Goals:
– Explore the impact of grief and loss on children, adolescents, families, and communities.
– Identify research-based trajectories of the grief experience as a point of reference for
understanding the effects of bereavement over time.
– Identify principles of grief-informed leadership to navigate through the coming months
and years as the collective grief from the pandemic remains.
– Discuss challenges and opportunities that face schools and organizations with local
leaders in a panel dialogue.

For more information and to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7816173156794/WN_QhskIqJKSLq2cMXu2BCaAQ