THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

Students coping with the loss of a classmate to violence during the Christmas break will have grief counseling available.

School officials announced Friday plans have been made to help young people through what could be a trying time. Dewone Smiley, a ninth grader at Selma High School, died after he was shot the night of Dec. 22 during an altercation with another youth.

Jeffrey Kendell Struggs, 17,

is a suspect in the shooting. He remains in jail on $300,000 bond after being charged with the shooting.

The school system will use its school Guidance Crisis Advocacy Team to provide leadership and assistance to personnel and students at Selma High and the Phoenix school. Dawson said district coordinator of GCAT, Mamie Solomon, would appoint the counseling team based on identified needs.

Solomon will supervise the implementation of the crisis advocacy team’s guidelines as they relate to the death of a classmate.

Dawson said some of the grief counseling steps to be followed include allowing students class time to express their grief, directing students to collect donations for monetary assistance or memorials, and the reporting to the appropriate entities those who may be experiencing high anxiety that might possibly escalate into physical confrontations or even violent situations.

In a news release issued Selma City Schools, officials said some of the grief counseling steps to be followed include allowing students class time to express their grief, directing students to collect donations for monetary assistance or memorials, and the reporting to the appropriate entities those who may be experiencing high anxiety that might possibly escalate into physical confrontations or even violent situations.