Lafayette County School District Earns Grief-Sensitive Designation, Receives $2,000 Grant

Lafayette County School District earned designation as a Grief-Sensitive School and received a $2,000 Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative grant from the New York Life Foundation when Registered Representative and Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative Ambassador Joseph Johnson presented the check on Feb. 13, 2026.

District materials and local reporting identify the counselors who accepted the grant. The Lafayette County School District caption lists Counselors Aimee Kohne, Ann-Claire Westmoreland, Amanda Gray, and Macy Worthem, and notes Jennifer Roberts and Inda Linzay were not pictured. An OxfordEagle photo caption from the same presentation names, from left, Aimee Kohne, LES counselor; Kate Blackfird, LES intern; Anna Claire Westmoreland, LES counselor; Amanda Gray, LMS counselor; and Macy Woods, LUES counselor. The district photo is credited to Booker Harvey for CMG; the OxfordEagle photograph is credited to Alyssa Schnugg.

The district release says, “The grants will be used to support bereaved students and their families in the school community,” and spells out intended uses that include developing or enhancing a bereavement support plan, encouraging ongoing staff development and training, and covering needs related to students’ participation in extracurricular activities. LES counselor Aimee Kohne told the OxfordEagle, “Some of those kids want to participate in extracurricular activities, so it will help cover some of those needs that might not be covered by other funds,” and added, “It will allow us to get resources for them to help them adapt and learn to deal with their new normal.”

New York Life’s Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative mobilizes trained ambassadors to connect with schools, raise awareness about childhood bereavement, and direct educators to resources from the Coalition to Support Grieving Students. New York Life program materials state that GSSI recognizes schools that commit to better support grieving students by awarding them the “Grief‑Sensitive School” designation accompanied by a grant. Those materials also note, “Participating schools are encouraged to make a commitment to strive to become more grief‑sensitive; those that take this step receive New York Life’s ‘Grief‑Sensitive School’ designation, as well as a $500 grant,” while Lafayette’s announced award for Feb. 13 totaled $2,000.

The district release cites the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model developed by Judi’s House/JAG Institute as a data resource but does not include local CBEM estimates for Lafayette County in the announcement. Lafayette County School District lists its administrative address and contact information as 100 Commodore Drive, Oxford, MS 38655; phone 662-234-3271; fax 662-236-3019 for anyone seeking documentation of the district’s bereavement support plan or details on how the $2,000 will be allocated.

For program context or broader questions about GSSI, New York Life Foundation contact material is listed as nylfoundation@newyorklife.com and Coalition inquiries are listed as info@grievingstudents.org.