FALMOUTH — School administrators are letting students take the lead in dealing with the death of a beloved second-grade teacher and planning for his memorial service.

The service for Kevin Grover, 40, of Falmouth, will be held Saturday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m., at the Falmouth High School gym.

Grover, a second-grade teacher at Falmouth Elementary School and former Maine Teacher of the Year, died Thanksgiving morning in Rangeley after returning from a run.

Karen Boffa, co-principal of Falmouth Elementary, said that student reaction to Grover’s death has been mixed, but the staff has done a great job anticipating their needs and helping them maintain some semblance of a routine.

“The kids know that however they feel or whatever they need, they can do that in their class,” she said. “What we find is kids really want routine. Routines are what help us through these tough times.”

In an effort to maintain a familiar routine, Carol MacNaught, who was Grover’s educational technician and formerly taught second grade, has taken over his class.

In addition to maintaining student routine, the school brought in a councilor from the Center for Grieving Children to speak with students who wanted someone to talk with about Grover’s death.

Grover, who was the 2010 Maine Teacher of the Year, was a leader in service-learning at Falmouth Elementary said Gloria Noyes, president of Maine’s Teacher of Year Association.

“Kevin is going to be greatly missed,” Noyes said. “He was someone that was highly regarded in the world of education and left an impact on all of us. It’s a great loss for education and educators in Maine.”

Noyes said Grover was a key element in building and inspiring teachers through the Teacher of the Year Association. He started a Speaker’s Bureau within the association, which brought together past recipients of the award to speak at businesses or schools about their expertise, she said.

In school, Grover was a leader in technology and always willing to help inspire other teachers to use it, Noyes said.

“He was a brilliant guy and very creative; he was excellent with technology” she said. “Staff would always go to Kevin for instruction and enhancement of their skills.”

Grover grew up in Greene and graduated from St. Dominic Regional High School in Auburn. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Farmington and a master’s degree from the University of Southern Maine.

From 1996 through 2001, Grover taught first and second grades at Lake Street School in Auburn before moving to the Falmouth schools.

Grover is survived by his wife Rebecca; daughter, Lillian; son, Elias; parents Michael and Lianne Grover; brothers Jeffrey Grover and his wife, Julia, Christopher and his wife, Mindy, and a sister, Laura Grover.