Crisis team preparing to help St. Charles students mourning classmates
A crisis team plans to assemble first thing Monday morning at St. Charles East High School to assist students mourning the deaths of classmates Brittany S. Coffland and Tiffany S. Coffland, a St. Charles Unit District 303 spokesman said Sunday.
“They will go through everything they need to do to make sure everybody knows where to send students who need support,” District 303 spokesman Jim Blaney said.
The 16-year-old twin sisters were shot to death along with their father about 5 p.m. Friday, at a residence in the 400 block of South First Street in St. Charles. The sisters' mother, Anjum S. Coffland, was wounded. Police have called the shootings a case of domestic violence.
The crisis team will include district administrators, social workers, counselors, department heads and the school resource police officer. Their plan will be forwarded to teachers so they will know them know what to do if a students in need of help comes to them, Blaney said.
Blaney emphasized that every staff member, from teachers to custodians, will be informed about the proper procedure.
An announcement will be made to students so they know where they can get support if needed, he added. Support will be available for the foreseeable future.
“We don't ramp up or back down on the level of support that's available to our students,” Blaney said.
Students have been communicating since late Friday over social media, urging one other to wear blue or purple to school Monday, the favorite colors of the Coffland sisters.
Blaney said the Fellowship of Christian Athletes plans to hold a vigil for the sisters in the school's little theater before classes begin Monday.