1-week limit for student memorials, schools say
Temporary in-school memorials that mark the passing of a student or teacher can be displayed only until the day of the funeral or one week after the person’s death, according to Central Okanagan Public Schools.
An update of various administrative policies that will go to trustees next week outlines the procedures that must be followed when there’s a request to put up a memorial display in a Kelowna-area school.
Memorials with pictures, flowers, notes, and student desk displays are allowable with the permission of the school principal. But the policy suggests the display should be temporary and limited in scope. “In recognition that schools are designed primarily to support learning, school sites should not serve as the main venue for the memorializing of students or staff,” the policy states.
The new policy was developed last September, but is only now going to trustees for review.
School officials recognize that the loss of a member of the school community is deeply felt by students, staff, and families.
After a death, the focus is on helping those most affected to find the appropriate resources to help them through their grief, the policy states.
But in-school memorials are often proposed immediately after a death “without full consideration of the potential long-term implications for students, staff, families and the community”, the report states.
Helping people through their grieving process is often more important to their longterm recovery than putting up permanent memorials in schools, the report states.
“It is important to allow sufficient time and space in which members of the school community can identify and understand their thoughts and emotions about a loss of life,” the report says.
As well as limiting in-school memorial spaces until the day of the funeral or a week after the person’s death, the policy says:
— any proposed display can be rejected;
— schools cannot be used for memorial services or funerals without the approval of the superintendent;
— school-wide anniversaries of deaths will not occur;
— memorials following a death from suicide “must not glamorize, romanticize, or stigmatize the act of suicide.”
Okanagan Skaha School District 67 does not have a specific policy on memorials, but follows guiding principles.
“The work of honouring the memory of an individual, particularly one who has died suddenly and unexpectedly, is exceptionally delicate,” SD67 superintendent Todd Manual said in an email. “Each case is measured individually by our Critical Incident Response Team in partnership with the impacted family and school community, and with the understanding that temporary memorials can be of support to many, and must be planned and managed in respectful ways that help support those individuals most directly impacted while also gently helping a school return to normalcy.”