It can be difficult to know what to say to a child who is grieving.

To help schools support students who have lost a family member or friend, the New York Life Foundation recently launched a Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative.

The initiative offers tips on how to speak with children who are grieving and helps raise educators’ awareness of grief’s prevalence and impact among school-age children.

For instance, while it may seem helpful to say, “At least your loved one is no longer in pain,” that statement could minimize the child’s experience. Instead, the tips recommend asking them about their loved one — “What kind of memories do you have about your grandpa?”

The Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative also provides a variety of free resources, including a guide to local grief organizations and camps.

Five Powell schools — the middle school, high school and three elementary schools — participated in the initiative last school year, led by New York Life Agent Patricia Moulton of Powell.

Principals described the grief counseling sessions with Moulton as “excellent.”

“We have many kids experiencing hardships and emotional trauma due to hardships or the loss of loved ones,” said Parkside Principal Jason Hillman. “This training provided us with tools to help students through those times.”

Data indicates one in 15 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18, yet only 7 percent of classroom teachers have received bereavement training, according to the New York Life Foundation’s survey of U.S. educators; research also shows that grieving children are at a much greater risk for depression, substance abuse and suicide.

The Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative is “designed to empower educators and school community members to act on a critical opportunity to provide support to their grieving students,” said Heather Nesle, president of the New York Life Foundation.

“It is important to be prepared and know how to support grieving students,” said Powell Middle School Principal Kyle Rohrer. “This program provided extra resources and enhanced our system we have in place.”

The resources for teachers and parents are appreciated, said Southside Elementary School Principal Scott Schiller.

“Patricia [Moulton] provided a safe environment for our teachers to discover more about grief and its many forms, and how we can respond in schools to best support our students and their families,” Schiller said. He added that the presentation was timely, as Southside staff members were working on a book study that included a chapter on dealing with loss and traumatic events in schools.

Former PHS Principal Jim Kuhn said the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative tied in with the yearly training the school district does with staff.

“It’s always good to gather/share information with staff about how to address emotional issues that our students or staff can go through,” Kuhn said.

Since the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative was piloted in 2016, more than 400 schools have received the designation. The program is projected to reach 1,000 schools by the end of this year. This was the first time the training was brought to Powell schools.

“I hoped that from the training, the teachers, principals [and] counselors gained more tools to utilize to help our students,” Moulton said.

By bringing the training to Powell schools, Moulton said she wanted to let school staff know that other industries are also talking about how grief impacts a child and to be a resource for them.

Each of the five schools that completed the training — Southside Elementary, Parkside Elementary, Westside Elementary, Powell Middle School and Powell High School — received a $500 grant from the New York Life Foundation, for a total of $2,500 donated to Park County School District No. 1. The schools could use the funding however they see fit, whether toward a need in their building or resources for students.

For more information, visit www.achildingrief.com.