Principal: William Penn Middle School Teachers' Deaths Not Related

The deaths of two William Penn Middle School teachers who died less than one week apart are not related, according to school Principal Paul F. Meehan.

Levittown Patch reported on May 10 that special education teacher Marguerite Ferraro died after collapsing.

On Sunday, William Penn students and parents received an automated phone message and/or e-mail informing them seventh grade math teacher Janine Giuliano died.

Meehan released the following letter to the school's community on Monday:

Dear William Penn Community,   

I would like to thank the entire community for your overwhelming support throughout these trying times that we are facing as a school community. As I promised, the following information serves as an update to continue to help us through the next few days.

There have been several inquirers asking if there is a connection between these two incidents. Please be reassured that these tragic deaths were not related. Out of deference to the family’s privacy, we do not have any additional information concerning Ms. Giuliano’s passing.

Because of the highly unusual nature of these back-to-back incidents, we chose to bring in counselors from multiple schools within Pennsbury, as well as off-site organizations, to supplement our own resources. Throughout yesterday, the crisis team met and the decision was made to keep to our school routine and structure in place for today (Monday).

Since the arrival of students this (Monday) morning, several supports have been in place for our students and staff, which include the following:

• School Counselors from our four elementary feeder schools (Afton, Makefield, Oxford Valley and Penn Valley) met with students throughout the day. Students in need of support were paired with their sending-school elementary counselors for familiarity and support.

• Ten certified Pennwood teachers reported to William Penn to help in our classrooms for the entire school day.

• We paired teaching staff along with school counselors and psychologists inside several 7th grade classes throughout the day.

• District Administrators, School District psychologists and the District’s crisis team were on-site Sunday and throughout the day on Monday.

• Several off-site organizations and agencies from Bucks County were here today to offer their supports and will continue to do so as needed.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), we have asked several comprehensive community mental health resource agencies to be available at William Penn Middle School from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They will be here to meet with William Penn students and their parents or guardians on an as-needed basis.

At noon, Lenape Valley Foundation will facilitate a group discussion for parents or guardians to offer advice as to how a parent might respond to a child’s expression over these losses. Parents and students choosing to access any of these supports should report to the William Penn Library Classroom.

It is important to know that over the next several days and weeks we will continue to offer the support of our school counselors. Please do not hesitate to call your child’s individual counselor if needed. In addition, we encourage you to visit and review the William Penn website, which contains grief counseling and school counseling information and resources for the William Penn school community.

Sincerely,

Paul F. Meehan, Principal