New Jersey
Students in N.J. could soon be taught about grief, loss, and coping
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New Jersey could soon mandate that its schools teach students about coping with grief and loss. The state Legislature has given final approval to a measure that would require school districts to provide lessons on this topic for students in 8th – 12th grades.
The bill now awaits the decision of Governor Phil Murphy on whether it will be signed into law. This initiative comes in response to a growing recognition of the importance of addressing mental health issues, including grief, among students. If approved, it will mark a significant change in the state’s educational curriculum, aiming to better support students in dealing with these challenging experiences.
State Senator Jon Bramnick, the sponsor of the bill, said this is important because we currently have a mental health crisis in our schools “and people who lose a sibling or a parent go through an incredibly difficult time.”
He said “we have people act out, and many times it’s out of frustration because of a loss they didn’t know how to grieve.”
Diana, a 19-year-old from Essex County who is now a freshman in college, lost her mother in May 2022 after a long battle with cancer.
She said she strongly supports the idea of having schools offer a class about grief and loss because of her own experience. She returned to high school two weeks after her mom died, feeling scared and emotionally distraught.
“I went to my first class of the day and instead of receiving condolences from my teachers and friends,” she said, “I was treated as if nothing was different and told to create a plan on how I would make up my missed work.”
“Grieving children and teens are at risk for poor school performance, absenteeism, mental health issues, addiction and depression, but with the proper support from schools and educators, students can have the resources they need to really make a difference in their lives,” she said.
Lindsay Schambach, the executive director of the group Imagine, a Center for Coping with Loss, said her organization and other grief support groups are looking forward to a collaborative effort with the state Department of Education to develop a program geared to helping students with grief and loss.
She said part of this effort will include dispelling myths that pertain to grief, including the idea that “time heals all wounds,” or that at some point there will be acceptance of loss.
“The exposure to children about the truths, and the true experience of those who are grieving, we believe can help normalize the feelings our children go through when they experience loss,” she said.
How will this work?
Schambach said therapy would not be introduced into the health classes, but rather a review of “the most up-to-date information as it exists on grief, what is loss, what is grief, what are healthy coping mechanisms that exist, and then across the state we also believe it’s really important to teach children how best to support others who are grieving.”
She noted grief is associated with all types of losses, not just death, including divorce, separation, a physical move, or even a loss of normalcy when a serious health diagnosis is given.
Schambach said 1 out of every 13 children in New Jersey will experience the death of a parent or sibling before they turn 18.
“That means in all of our classrooms across the state there are children going through this type of loss,” she said.
Bramnick said “with the mental health crisis in the country, teaching some of this in school, no one should object to it.”
“I don’t think the fact that we’re teaching broad concepts of what people go through during grief and loss is religious in any way or should be unacceptable,” he said, “because what people go through with grief and loss is universal.”
Schambach agreed.
“I don’t think a religious point of view is necessary in a grief curriculum, because people of all cultures, all religions, all ages, all races, all socio-economic statuses, they all grieve,” she said.
According to Schambach, religion and culture play a huge role in how different families experience grief, and research shows “it’s very common for those who are grieving to begin believing, to question their belief system, or to stop believing.”
She said a strong curriculum will “expose children to the fact that those feelings are natural and normal, and some people find support in their cultural beliefs and religious beliefs, and you can turn towards those as a coping strategy.”
THE SCOOP
While one half of the New Jersey Devils have departed for Prague, the other group of players will finish up the preseason schedule for the Devils before the opener on Friday.
The roster will be comprised of players on the Utica Comets roster and players on PTOs hoping to earn a contract and the games will be coached by the Utica coaching staff, under the guidance of head coach Kevin Dineeen.
The Rangers will have a lot of their NHL players in the lineup, offering up a big task for the Devils.
New York is however dealing with a couple of injuries, the latest to forward Jimmy Vesey who left practice on Sunday
WHO’S HOT
Devils: There hasn’t been a ton of time for the Utica players to stand out, with the first few games of the preseason having NHL-heavy rosters.
Rangers: Chris Kreider has continued where he left off last season, with five points through this early preseason.
INJURIES
Devils: Pesce (leg), L. Hughes (shoulder)
Rangers: Vesey (unknown)
By Martin Dunn
On July 24, I appeared in front of the NJ Transit Board of Directors to ask questions about the death of a teenager on the tracks near Mays Landing nearly a decade ago. I specifically asked: Is the investigation into the case of 18-year-old Tiffany Valiante still ongoing, or, if it is closed, why has crucial evidence – including personal belongings — not been returned to the family?
The revamped 32-team tournament will be held at 12 venues across the US a year before it hosts the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final will be held in New Jersey, home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets, world football’s governing body has announced.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced the venue lineup for the revamped tournament on Saturday.
The expanded 32-team tournament, which will feature leading clubs from around the world, will be held around the United States from June 15 to July 13.
A total of 12 venues will be used for the tournament with only two of them on the West Coast – the Rose Bowl in Pasadena near Los Angeles and Lumen Field in Seattle.
The tournament is taking place at the same time as the regional CONCACAF Gold Cup which will be held mainly on the West Coast.
The open-air stadium for the final, which opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 82,500, held the Copa America Centenario final in 2016 when Chile denied Lionel Messi’s Argentina for a second time in a penalty shootout. It will also host the FIFA World Cup 2026 final.
The other venues which will host games are – Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte), TQL Stadium (Cincinnati), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), GEODIS Park (Nashville), Camping World Stadium (Orlando), Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) and Audi Field (Washington, DC).
Coming to the USA in 2025 🇺🇸#TakeItToTheWorld | #FIFACWC pic.twitter.com/ocAOgy87Fl
— FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) September 28, 2024
The Club World Cup will feature title-winning teams from each of FIFA’s continental confederations.
The draw for the tournament will be held in December, with 30 of the 32 places already secured through the qualification procedure.
Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are among the 12 European teams who have qualified for the tournament while Argentina’s River Plate and Boca Juniors and Brazil’s Flamengo are among six South American teams.
“This new FIFA competition is the only true example in worldwide club football of real solidarity and inclusivity, allowing the best clubs from Africa, Asia, Central and North America and Oceania to play the powerhouses of Europe and South America in an incredible new World Cup which will impact enormously the growth of club football and talent globally,” Infantino said.
The tournament will be viewed as a key test ahead of the World Cup 2026 and there will be a focus on security issues after crowd problems at July’s Copa America games at the stadiums in Charlotte and Miami.
FIFA has yet to announce any broadcast deals or sponsorship contracts for the tournament and the competition has faced some opposition within the game.
FIFPRO and the European Leagues body filed a joint complaint to the European Commission against FIFA over the introduction of the tournament into the international match calendar.
Opponents of the new tournament have said it adds further congestion to an already crowded schedule and increases the workload of players.
The last version of the Club World Cup featured seven teams in a knockout format and was won by Manchester City who beat Brazil’s Fluminense in the final in Saudi Arabia.
FIFA plans to hold the expanded tournament every four years, although no host has yet been chosen for the 2029 edition.
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