Dealing With Loss At BHS

It was a very difficult day at BHS for both staff and students after the apparent suicide of Mark Welsch over the weekend.  I wanted to make everyone aware of what happened today and our plans moving forward.  Following a brief staff meeting this morning at 7 a.m., we had our library open with counselors available for students who needed support. In addition to BHS counselors, we had a number of outside counselors on hand to help support our staff and students.  We are thankful for the assistance of the NEMLEC STARS crisis team, the Burlington Community Life Center and the LABB Collaborative. We will continue to make the library available for any students who may need help or just need to take a brief break.

We also want to support parents during this difficult time as they help support their children and one another through the grief process. With this in mind, we will host a forum for parents tomorrow evening at 6:30 led by Dr. Larry Berkowitz, the Director of Riverside Community Care, and a nationally recognized speaker on supporting schools and communities following the suicide of a young person.  In addition Dr. Berkowitz will be available to speak with parents on a walk-in bases on Wednesday morning from 8-10 a.m. Dr. Berkowitz has also provided us with the following list of Suicide Prevention Resources. 

If you need to speak with someone in regards to this community tragedy, we encourage you to call the BHS Guidance Office at 781 270-1856 or the Burlington Community Life Center at 781 270-1961. You can also reach me by e-mail at larkin@bpsk12.org or on my phone by clicking on the call me link on the right side of this blog.