About 30% of Burrell School District students have experienced the loss of an immediate family member within the past year, according to Greg Egnor, the district’s director of pupil services.
“The amount of grief that students in our district have experienced this year has been a lot,” Egnor said. “Trauma is a barrier to learning, and grief is a barrier to learning.”
To support those students, Burrell School Board has approved an agreement with the Hope’s Road Youth Bereavement Program to provide grief and emotional support services for one year.
There is no cost to the district.
The program will supplement Burrell’s existing agreement with Highmark Caring Place because of the greater need of students experiencing grief, Egnor said.
“One opportunity might benefit a student and group one way, and another group might benefit another student and group another way,” Egnor said. “Having that capacity is something we desire to do.”
Hope’s Road is offered through Concordia’s Good Samaritan Hospice that supports children, teens and young adults grieving the loss of someone significant in their lives, said Emily Bitting, a Concordia spokeswoman.
“Grief can show up in many ways for students — including anxiety, withdrawal, trouble focusing, changes in behavior and academic struggles — and Hope’s Road helps young people and their families process that loss in healthy, age-appropriate ways.”
Programs include individual bereavement support, creative grief events, comfort kits, spiritual counseling if desired and ongoing community-based programming, Bitting said. It aims to help students feel less alone and better equipped to cope.
“We’re grateful to partner with Burrell School District so families have access to compassionate support and resources when they need them most,” she said.
Egnor said Hope’s Road is not a counseling program, but rather a grief support program. Grief support is more specialized, he said.
“Grief is a burden that gets carried. I hope it removes a barrier to learning and relationships and friendships formed in school,” Egnor said.
“The safest schools and the most productive schools have the best relationships. I hope this continues and strengthens that bond.”
