b'Crisis Response When a school receives the news that one of its students has died by suicide, the first step is to make sure this news is true. In this age of social media and smartphones, it is easy for rumors to spread. School staff should immediately confirm the death of a student.Upon confirmation, the school should immediately implement a coordinated crisis response to achieve thefollowing:oEffectively manage the situationoProvide opportunities for grief supportoMaintain an environment focused on normal educational activitiesoHelp students cope with their feelingsoMinimize the risk of suicide contagionMobilize a Crisis Response TeamIt is most effective for schools to have an identified Crisis Response Team set up and ready to respond to a crisis before one occurs. This team is responsible for implementing the elements of your schools crisis response plan. Before a crisis occurs, find out whether your school district has a CrisisIf You Have Used PreventingResponse Team that can provide additional support to your school ifSuicide: A Toolkit for High Schoolsneeded. Many districts have a Crisis Response Team to handle larger crisis events, with each school having its own Crisis Response Team.Note: Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for This allows schools to pull from the district-wide team if they requireHigh Schools uses the term Suicide additional support staff to meet the needs of their staff and studentsResponse Team. In this toolkit on in the aftermath of a suicide. A district team is also beneficial if thepostvention, we use Crisis Response schools Crisis Response Team is emotionally impacted in a way that makes it difficult for team members to engage in postvention activitiesTeam instead because this term is now effectively, or if they need extra support. more widely known, accepted, and used in school safety plans. Some schools Depending on the size of the school or district, the school Crisis Response Team should have at least 5 or 6 people (but no more than 15),have a Suicide Response Team that is chosen for their skills, credentials, and ability to work compassionatelypart of a larger Crisis Response Team. and effectively under pressure with all members of the schoolEven if you have a Suicide Response community. Ideally the team will be a combination of administrators,Team, consider mobilizing the entire counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, and school resourceCrisis Response Team after a suicide, officers. It can also be useful to include a member of the schools information technology staff to help with social media. The team shouldsince effective postvention requires the have the ability to work with all of the cultures represented by theexpertise, roles, and knowledge of the students and their families. entire team.After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools|5'