By Emily Wery

The Mount Vernon High School office staff received a call Friday, Oct. 5, informing them that the sixth-hour photography class discovered a deceased body while taking scenery photos at Palisades Kepler State Park. In response, principal Steve Brand and counselor Brett Karkosh left for the park immediately.

Local law enforcement officers were already investigating, and the location was secured. Once Brand and Karkosh arrived, their main focus was to provide support to the students and teacher, as all of them had been impacted by the situation.

“I wanted to make sure that all of the social and emotional needs of the students were being met,” Karkosh explained. The situation had been deeply traumatic for the students, some more than others, and he wanted to ensure they had the support needed.

“The whole event was very shocking and made me want to see my family,” senior Pauline LeBlanc said. LeBlanc is an exchange student from Belguim.

Before students could leave the park, they each were interviewed by the police, and the memory cards from each of the cameras were taken into evidence to ensure no images had been captured by mistake.

As soon as the class was released from the scene, additional counseling services were provided to each individual student, and parents were contacted by a phone call to inform them of the situation. As an extra measure of support, to ensure the emotional stability of the students, Karkosh made sure counseling services were available over the weekend to anyone that wanted to talk.

The following Monday, a licensed therapist was brought in from outside the school to provide another level of professional support to anyone in need.

“Every teacher and student should be aware of how traumatic situations can bring up deep emotions from previous, unrelated experiences, and that the recovery will be different for every student,” Karkosh explained. “We can all help those impacted by tragic events like this by just being there, and listening,” he continued. It is also important to encourage students to participate or stay active socially and not become withdrawn. Teachers especially should be sensitive to signs of withdrawal for these students, to ensure they get the support they need throughout this recovery process.

“If students ever feel like they need more support for any issue, I can provide counseling services for them both inside and outside the school district, in complete confidence,” Karkosh said.

To keep all family members in the district informed, Superintendent Greg Batenhorst issued an email statement to all parents regarding the situation, hoping for transparent communication. In his statement, he wrote, “The students and teacher impacted by this situation are to be commended for their poise and maturity while dealing with a traumatic situation.  The school and district will continue to provide support to these people and anyone else who may be impacted by this event.”

Keeping everyone informed of the facts allowed parents to address the issue at a family level while knowing that support is available to anyone in need through the school.