Jacksonville High School staff and students are mourning the death of one of their students and classmates, and counselors are available to help deal with the loss. District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek says the district’s thoughts are with the student’s family.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family in this very difficult time. We consider all the students and community members as part of the Jacksonville Public School family, so we really want to put what they are going through first.”
Ptacek says the district is prepared to help support students dealing with this difficult time.
“We have prepared our staff to work with students that we see are in need of extra support. We’ve had social workers on hand, we have the guidance department on hand, we have school councilors who are ready to work with any of our students that we know need help during this very trying time.”
A visitation for the student will be held on Friday from 4 to 7 at the Buchanan and Cody Funeral Home in Jacksonville. WLDS/WEAI news is not using the student’s name, out of respect for the family.