Students Mourn Death Of Teacher
Times Picayune 09-21-1996

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Students at Mildred Osborne Elementary School got a lesson in dealing with
grief Friday as they faced the loss of Florence Flot, a teacher who was found
dying at her desk Thursday afternoon after her class had been dismissed.

A custodian at the public school in eastern New Orleans noticed Flot, 59,
slumped over her desk and contacted principal Doris Robinson about 3:45 p.m.
Robinson said she and assistant principal Brian DeCuir called 911.

Over the public address system, they asked for help from anyone who knew
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and two teachers and one parent came to help.

Paramedics took Flot to Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital, where she was
pronounced dead at 4:15 p.m. The Orleans Parish coroner's office concluded
Friday that Flot died of natural causes, chief investigator John Gagliano
said.

Gwen Williams, the school's social worker, and about 12 other social workers
spent much of Friday consoling children and faculty.

The teachers came in an hour early and Williams said she helped them handle
their emotions and prepared them to break the news to the students.

Then Williams told the 30 children in Flot's homeroom class. "Some were numb,
some started crying right away," she said.

They also encouraged the children to celebrate Flot's life by sharing their
memories of her and creating artwork in her honor.

"Some students said that Flot often used to tell them about her fishing
expeditions in the Gulf of Mexico. They said she was easy to talk to,"
Williams said.

Flot was particularly concerned about students who were burdened with personal
difficulties and family problems, Williams said.

Robinson said Flot had been a teacher with the public school system for 35
years. Besides her homeroom class, where she taught the students most of their
subjects, Flot taught social studies to another class.

"This year particularly, she took on the mentoring of younger teachers,"
Robinson said. "We really are saddened by her death - it's a tragedy."

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Friday evening.