When Kids Are Grieving: Addressing Grief and Loss in School

Donna Burns is an educational psychologist who specializes in developmental psychology with an emphasis on child and adolescent development, diversity, and issues in grief and loss. She has designed and taught undergraduate and graduate level courses on death and dying and conducts seminars and workshops for school districts and non-profit organizations. She has presented papers on various aspects of grief and loss at local, regional, and national conferences and has created a conceptual framework for understanding grief reactions. She coordinates and oversees the children’s program for the annual New York State Police Survivor’s Tribute weekend; has provided support to bereaved military family members; and has conducted training on Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) for firefighters.  Burns is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), and the American Academy of Bereavement (AAB), where she completed an advanced bereavement facilitator training program.