Edison High School Student Death

Start Date: 2022-03-11

Description: We were asked to deploy to Edison High School for a second day due to the death of two students in a tragic car accident on Monday of last week. Upon arrival, we met with a large number of staff and faculty in the office while waiting for all HOPE members. We were then ushered to the ASB room for student interactions. Due to the amazing ground work done by La Wana Heald the day before, the staff had a very good understanding of our role and needs. We were in the room all morning, without any staff or counselors. Students came and left of their own accord. There was no one there to help them, if needed, as the only counselor on staff was at another school all morning. Puzzling to us. Luckily, the kids seemed to have turned the corner with their emotions. Not too many tearful interactions, but those that were emotional were referred to the counselor upon her arrival. At lunch we went outside to their quad area to a faculty gathering, which turned into a student/dog interaction session, quite predictably. After lunch we stayed outside where students were walking through and had some great interactions, but mostly just petting and not so much theraputic. LaWana and I spoke at length at the end of her day. I gained key insight to the school, their expectations and what they provided. I was able to alert my fellow HOPE teams to bring lunches and water, as none were provided the previous day. It was good to see the students on the mend and we were happy to help those who were still suffering

Agency: Edison High School
Teams: Constance Howell and Kelda; Grace Chen and Bagel
Region: