Sebastopol Community Grieves Student’s Tragic Death: A Call for Urgent Mental Health Conversations

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

We are heartbroken to share that we lost a fourth-grade student. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends impacted by this tragedy.

Many questions and concerns arise after such events. Although we don’t have all the details yet, rumors about the situation have begun to circulate. One serious rumor involves the possibility of suicide. It’s important to approach this sensitive topic with care. We’re here to support our students, staff, and families as we navigate this challenging time.

Tomorrow, mental health professionals will lead discussions in the 3rd- and 4th-grade classrooms to help students process their feelings and address these rumors. For younger students in TK-2nd grade, we won’t have guided discussions, but if you think your child could benefit from speaking with a mental health provider, please reach out to our staff.

For students in 5th-8th grades, we won’t have formal talks about this issue tomorrow. However, if you’d like a mental health provider available for your child, contact us. We’re also expanding our suicide prevention lessons for 7th and 8th graders, focusing on the importance of asking for help and sharing concerns about friends.

We invite you to a support session for parents and caregivers tomorrow from 3:00-3:45 p.m. in Room 11 at Park Side. Mental health experts will share advice on talking about loss and supporting children through grief. If you can’t attend, we’d be happy to connect with you individually afterward.

Here are some resources that may help:

• Supporting Children After the Loss of a Classmate to Suicide (English) / Spanish
• Helping Children Deal with Grief (English) / Spanish
• Local Grief Resources
• Developmental Responses to Grief
• Local Crisis and Resource Numbers

We are committed to supporting all our students through this difficult time. While no words can heal the pain of this loss, we will continue to take action to help our community recover and grow stronger together.

This session is just the start of our discussions about healing and mental well-being. We will provide more opportunities for conversations and workshops on these important topics in the future.

With heartfelt sympathy,

Sara Gramm, Molly Bulwa, Rachel Lasek, & Eric Dick
Sebastopol Union School District Administration