Recognizing how difficult it would be for Lake Forest High School students returning from spring break Monday — the first day of classes since senior Edward Schutt was struck and killed by a train — the school had support services in place to help.
Schutt was the third Lake Forest student to be killed by a train since January. Sophomore Farid Hussain died by suicide Jan. 9 and freshman William Laskero-Teskoski was killed Feb. 28. No cause of death has been officially released for Laskero-Teskoski.
“On Monday, our building becomes a school again filled with wonderful people,” wrote Principal Jay Hoffmann to parents in an email Sunday night. “I will be glad to have everyone back. But Monday will bring its challenges for our staff and students as we face again, with profound grief, the loss of one of our own.”
Hoffmann told parents that school officials would make an announcement before school, asking for a moment of silence in remembrance of Schutt.
Mental health experts and counselors are at the school this week, and a room has been set aside for students to drop in and talk, Hoffmann said. Students can talk one-on-one or attend panel discussions on navigating school life, he said.
Monday night, students were set to celebrate Schutt’s life at Lake Forest-based CROYA, or Committee Representing Our Young Adults. They were planning to make a scrapbook of his life that will be given to the Schutt family.
Hoffmann said that while the students were off for spring break last week, officials have been busy talking to experts on mental illness and suicide. The Lake County coroner’s office has not ruled on Schutt’s death, but police have said evidence points to suicide.
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After talking with mental health experts, the school will not hold assemblies, Hoffmann told parents in the email.
“Mental health professionals indicated that these types of large gatherings could be detrimental to other struggling youth by reinforcing the attention one receives after this type of tragic event,” Hoffmann wrote.
The following panel discussions and meetings are offered to students and parents this week:
*7 p.m., Tuesday: Parents are invited to a panel discussion led by Robert Edger, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, with other health professionals. It will take place at the Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Road in Lake Forest.
7 p.m., Wednesday: Students are invited to participate in “Youth Discussion on the State of our Community,” at CROYA, 400 Hastings Road in Lake Forest.
1 p.m, Friday: Lake Forest and Lake Bluff alumni will talk to students about living in the community, also at CROYA.
These latest efforts complement other initiatives the school started last month, including a community task force, made up of school officials, community leaders, parents, mental health experts and police.
The group has reached out to local and national resources in an effort to support the school.
Also, a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in adolescent development will be working with school officials to train them on grief and the warning signs of depression.