LN guidance department show support for Amy Beverland Elementary

While most were stunned when the news came along, the township’s guidance counselors immediately sprang to action to figure out how to help the students and faculty of Amy Beverland Elementary and all affected by the accident grieve and recover in an appropriate way.

“As a counselor I’m a part of the crisis team, when something happens in a district, we’re the first ones to be called,” Lawrence North guidance counselor Brandon Jackson said. “We listened, we handed out tissues, we spoke to kids, hugged parents and told them everything was going to be okay.”

On the evening of the accident Lawrence township announced that school had been cancelled for the following day. This announcement applied to all schools in the township and the cancellation allowed for guidance counselors across the district and the city to visit Amy Beverland and help those affected by the accident.

“What really helped everybody and what had helped the crisis response was not having school for the whole township on wednesday,” Guidance counselor Connie Siverston said. “That was huge. It allowed for all of us to be present and to be in a supportive role for the families of Amy Beverland.”

The guidance counselors of Lawrence Township and other counselors of the Marion county crisis team met on the morning of Jan. 27 and were distributed across the township to help. The majority of the counselors were sent to Amy Beverland while others were sent to the transportation center and the LECC.

“The day was very emotional, very sad but you know as a professional and as a guidance counselor I had to make sure I was meeting the needs of the students and parents who were coming in,” Jackson said.