Crisis counselors were called to an Orange County high school Monday morning after a group of students discovered their teacher hanged herself inside a locked classroom, officials said.
The students at El Dorado High School in Placentia found the photography teacher, 31-year-old Jillian Jacobson, about 8:30 a.m., Placentia police said.
The students arrived before school started to find the classroom door locked, Placentia Police Lt. Eric Point said. They got a teacher to unlock the door, when they then found the woman inside.
"She was just really involved in her students' lives," student Lacie Urquhart said. "She would ask everybody how their weekend was. If you were down, she would try to help you. She was just a very kind, loving person."
Jacobson worked at the high school since 2008, and she taught art camp during summer at Cal State Fullerton.
Parents of students at the school told NBC4 Jacobson, a wife who lived in Anaheim, had empathy for her students because her own father committed suicide.
The district sent crisis counselors to the school to comfort the students and staff and provide support, and they will remain available through the week.
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Point said the students from her class were sent home for the day.
