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CHARLOTTE – Almost 70 extra school staff and counselors were at Northwest School of the Arts to help students cope with the death of principal Dr. Barry Bowe.

The flags are at half staff and students painted the rock to express their grief.

“We wanted to ensure that every classroom had a support service staff person available in the classroom,” said Karen Thomas, CMS director of student services. “For many of them this is the first time that they are dealing with the loss of someone they are personally involved with.”

But for some of the students, it's their third loss in not quite three years.

Michael Washington died in 2009 and James Dover died in 2010, both were staff members at the school.

But Bowe's death is suspected suicide and came on the heels of a CMS investigation into a school dance that may have lacked appropriate security.

“Whatever this situation is and we don't know all of the ins and outs and may never know all of the ins and outs ,” said Thomas, “it it highly unlikely that a single situation in any person's life results in suicide.”

Mental health professionals stress the importance of proactive counseling at a time like this, especially among teenagers.

“There is actually a term, contagion,” said Ellis Fields, executive director, Mental Health Association of the Carolinas. “There is a contagion factor and sometimes people can pick up on that for whatever reason and perceive it as something that might be an option.”

CMS leaders talked extensively about educating students about options and parents about warning signs to make sure the loss of their leader is handled appropriately.