CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — This school year has seen a number of tragedies where students have died.
The deaths happened outside of schools and have ranged from students being involved in deadly car accidents, being victims of gun violence to losing their lives to suicide.
Each time that has happened, grief counselors have been there for students.
Queen City News had the chance to speak with two of those counselors Wednesday, who said one death among the student population affects the entire district.
“I think any year where you lose students is a tough year,” said elementary and middle school psychologist Jessie Lankford. “One is one too many, and we never want to experience any student losses across the board from our schools.”
“With grief, you’ll see it weeks later, months later,” said high school counselor Sequoia Goodman. “That’s when we get into the individualized ‘what do we need to do’.”
Lankford and Goodman are just a small portion of the contingent of grief counselors within Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.