Kearney Public Schools Administration Office, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The Board of Education and I have received many messages over the last several hours regarding Josiah Jones, a beloved member of the Senior class who suddenly passed away weeks ago.
We do listen to community input, and several people have provided their thoughts on this situation which gives us some feedback for consideration. So we appreciate and thank those who have provided that input. While this message is long, I hope it provides a context for where we’ve been as a district and where we hope to go in the future.
District policies and practices for the last decade or more have been to not memorialize student deaths. These policies and practices were developed through extensive crisis team training and recommendations for handling crisis situations. With this guidance, the district has not read deceased student names at the graduation ceremony nor have those students been listed in the graduation programs for many years.
While the Board members and I were not a part of that decision-making, we understand the importance of consistency and setting guidelines for both the present and the future.
Questions have to be asked…what if a student in the graduating class passes away in elementary school, what if a student arrives for a short period of time, passes away, and the family leaves Kearney, who tracks these situations to make sure someone isn’t missed? These are just a few of many questions and situations that can arise over 13 years of schooling. So these decisions are not easy, and decisions need to have clarity for both the present and the future.
With all of this said, the Board members and I have discussed this, and we will have Josiah’s name in the program for graduation and his name will be read along with our other KHS graduates. Additionally, we will have an open seat that is offset from the students to recognize any classmates, parents, grandparents, friends, or family who cannot join us for the graduation ceremony with a moment of silence.
Going forward, I will bring forward an amended board policy 5302 “Memorials” for board member consideration that will outline graduation procedures as this is not currently in board policy.
With our change in practice, we hope we are respectfully addressing the loss of Josiah as well as many others who are important to graduates. We know these situations are difficult, and we are doing our best to recognize him individually as well as many other important people our graduates have lost during their school years. Graduation is both a celebration and a reflection! We will do both of those things on Sunday with respect and grace. Our decision today is likely to upset some from the past and past practices.
For that, the Board and I are sorry, and we hope we’re not adding to your grief. We are simply trying to make the best decisions for today and for tomorrow. Please extend your grace as we do our very best. Thank you for supporting Kearney Public Schools.
Superintendent Jason Mundorf
