We help transform schools into grief-informed spaces where students grow from loss and adversity.
Schools are a critically important environment for children as they learn, grow, and develop as people. They are a vital space for ensuring a child’s emotional, physical, and mental health.
When children experience loss and adversity in their lives, research shows schools are one of the dominant environments where risk factors emerge. These risk factors include higher rates of stress, anxiety, and depression as well as the social isolation students often feel because they see themselves as very different from their peers. This can have long-term effects on the health and well-being of students, often affecting their performance in school and academic prospects.
Good Grief School Programs
Our school-based programs take a comprehensive approach to help children build resilience to overcome loss and adversity in their lives. The programs support the entire school community and help transform schools into grief-informed spaces where students grow from loss and adversity.
Bring Good Grief Schools to your school district
Grief Support Groups
This program supports K-12 students who have experienced the loss of an important person in their life. Students meet in small groups to explore topics including emotional literacy, healthy coping, self-advocacy and peer support.
Routes to Resilience
This prevention-based social and emotional learning program is for all K-12 students and prepares them to navigate adversity and loss in their lives—today in the future.
Professional Development
This program equips educators with training and best practices to be able to respond to death or significant loss in the school environment. The goal is to create more compassionate, empathic, and supportive classrooms where students can thrive after loss.
Parent Education
Through this program, parents and caregivers build an understanding of the critical role they play in helping children overcome loss and adversity and build resilience.
Resilient Students, Brighter Futures
100%
of teachers surveyed
agreed that they learned new strategies and activities to help assist children and teens coping with loss.
OUR PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO
Enhance sense of connectedness
Infuse teaching of adaptive strategies such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, and healthy coping
Increase student self-confidence to work through adversities
Increase self-help seeking behaviors among students who are struggling
Build shared language and normalize discussions on adversity and loss
Good Grief Schools fills a critical
gap in school curriculums
Approximately 90% of educators have no prior training in helping students work through grief loss and adversity. Our training equips educators to focus on building connections with students by being willing to engage them around difficult topics. We provide educators with concrete tools and strategies they can use to implement lesson plans and support groups, along with tools to measure impact.
Good Grief Schools helps schools create a more supportive and empathic culture in response to loss and adversity in the lives of students. When surrounded by a supportive school community and given the opportunity to learn adaptive life skills, students build resilience and find the courage and strength to see a brighter future for themselves.
“Routes to Resilience not only helped our district fill a gap in our curriculum around important SEL topics but the interactive nature of the lessons allowed our teachers and principals to connect with students on a deeper level. The high level of student engagement and heartfelt participation by our teachers was incredible!”
– Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Morris School District