The National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement

Dedicated to helping schools support their students through crisis and loss

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Materials and guidance for schools experiencing crises or helping grieving students

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Help me prepare

Resources and guidelines to prepare to support children in times of crisis and loss

GET PREPARED

The NCSCB was absolutely essential in assisting us in handling the aftermath of the crisis [2012 movie theater shooting] so our community could recover as quickly as possible.

John BarryFormer Superintendent, Aurora (Colorado) Public Schools

The NCSCB proved to be the most valuable of resources for the recovery efforts in our schools [after a deadly school shooting in 2014]… If I only had one piece of advice for schools experiencing such a crisis, it would be to make giving a call to the NCSCB their first priority.

Joshua WebbFormer Director of Counseling, Marysville (Washington) School District

[The NCSCB] generously assisted us by spending three days with our impacted faculties as well as the district leadership team [after the 2016 Smoky Mountains wildfires]… and provided meaningful help at a pivotal moment in our recovery!

Debra Ann Cline, Ed.D.Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, Sevier County (Tennessee) School System

Patiently walked me through the process, supplied wonderful support materials, and even helped draft initial letters to staff and parents [after the sudden death of a school staff member in 2016]. Our community would have suffered far more without [the NCSCB’s] support.

Lee ThomsenHead of School, Sacramento (California) Country Day School

After a series of student suicides, my staff was paralyzed with guilt that they had missed something or somehow could have prevented the students’ deaths. It was so freeing to learn from NCSCB that unfounded guilt and blame, almost always accompany such a loss, and that even with all of the best precautions in place, it does not guarantee against loss. After this, I saw healing begin to take place and teachers reaching out to support one another.

Mike GallagherPrincipal of a Washington State high school

Awards

Recipient of the 2020 Martin C. Ushkow Community Service Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health