SALYERSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s been just over two weeks since a Magoffin County Schools bus crashed into an embankment. Today, one student and the bus driver remain in medical care. The other 17 students have been released and some have even returned to the classroom.
Superintendent Chris Meadows explains, "We have had five students that have returned to in-person and we're excited about that, we have also been working with those that have returned home to do home hospital instruction with their homebound teachers, and they have all indicated their plans to return, maybe some of them after the Christmas holiday."
This district believes it's important for students to come back when they are ready and to know that resources are available to them. The school's mental health therapist says some students have struggled.
That mental health therapist, Cameron Blanton, says, "Imagine just getting them to school now after what they've been through is something that we're going to have to work on whether that's involving any community mental health professionals, working with them myself, and with their school psychologist."
Some students have also struggled with taking the same route to school, nightmares, and more. During this tough time, this district’s mental health professionals commend other organizations across the state for coming to visit and speak with students in medical care. Now, the school's psychologist, Barry Adkins, suggests that everyone can offer their peers extra support during this time.
Adkins says, "The subtle services that are needed whether it's a pat on the back or just a question about how you're doing and meaning it, not just time of day, and trying to gauge what's necessary, and what's not time for. To be sensitive to what the student needs at that moment and what they may need later on."
Superintendent Meadows says the time, efforts, and even monetary donations from the community during this time have been unmatched, especially for families as they recover and head into the holidays.
He says, "I think that it underscores what the holiday season should mean and what it means to a lot of people, and how we should conduct ourselves throughout the year, and not just during the holidays."
