Selma High School continues to recover from student’s death

Published 2:14 pm Monday, November 14, 2022

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By Travis Gupton

The Selma Times-Journal

Selma High School continues to recover after the tragic loss of a student last Tuesday.

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A 16-year-old sophomore was pronounced dead at Vaughn Regional Medical Center, while three students were sent to the hospital. State law prohibits the identifying of students.

The Selma City School System has begun the recovery process to help support Selma High School and all involved.

Starting Monday, Selma High School put into place more support for those students who returned to school after the incident.

The students were given a few extra days last week before returning to school on Monday.

“Dear Parents, as we continue to mourn the loss of our dear scholar yesterday (Tuesday), we realize that it takes some of our scholars longer to accept or transition to a sense of normalcy than others,” Superintendent Zickeyous Byrd said in a Social Media post.

“As a result, scholars who need additional time to return to Selma High School will continue to be excused tomorrow. Classes will proceed as normal for those who are ready to return to school and grief counselors will remain available. We ask for your continued support and prayers for the family and Saints Nation!”

A meeting was held last week with Selma City School officials. More than 30 different organizations were put in place for grief counselors and other support for students, staff, and faculty.

Selma High school will host a one-hour forum Wednesday at 5 p.m. to talk about things in wake of the recent events.

Selma Police Captain Natasha Fowlkes said there’s no update on what caused the student’s death.

Last Tuesday night the School System sent out a press release explaining what was going to be in place for students after the traumatic death.

“Grief counselors from the school and the Alabama State Department of Education will be on hand for students and staff,” Dr. Byrd said in the release.

At this time, it is unknown how long the grief counselors and other support will be at Selma High School.