Lexington School Deals With Child's Death

In the wake of and critically injured his big-sister Haley on Friday night, teachers and staff at Saxe Gotha Elementary stepped into the breach Monday to mitigate the pain and loss among students and staff.

Cameron was a first-grader at the school. Ten-year-old Haley — who remains in critical condition at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital according to WIS-TV — was a third-grader there. And another sister, age 9, who is also a Saxe Gotha third-grader, was also injured in the deadly crash, which authorities said was caused by a drunken driver who collided with their car on S.C. Highway 6 nearly four miles west of South Congaree.

"It was a tough day, as you might expect," said Mary Beth Hill, chief communications officer for Lexington County School District One. "Everybody supported each other, and the staff did well and did what they needed to do."

But, she said, "the littler that [students] are, the harder it is for them to understand. I'm not even sure many of the first-graders really understand about Cameron."

The tragedy is no easier for adults, either, especially those with children, Hill said.

But in light of the tragedy, the school has stepped up.

"Today, we [had] extra psychologists and guidance counselors there — and that's to support not just the students, but support the staff as well," Hill said.

Hill said the school also took the precaution Sunday of calling parents of children in Cameron's class, "so that those parents would have the opportunity to tell those children before [they] came to school … to tell them that their classmate had passed away. And also because every family has their own belief system and own religion and their own way of broaching that discussion."

Hill added that staff met Sunday night, and again early Monday morning, with psychologists and counselors "to know what to expect," she said.

"We also set up some classrooms [into] 'caring centers;' we set up rooms in case teachers needed a five-minute break, or if they just needed a chance to get themselves together," Hill said.

And the school also sent home a detailed letter to parents on how it was handling the situation (letter attached).

"The school's and the district's goal is to support the students and the staff," she said. "Each school is their own family. They're going to continue to support each other — and they're going to continue to support the Upchurch family as well."