FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Children, for the most part, do not spend much time thinking about death, but when one of their peers dies, it presents a side of reality that takes patience, compassion and support to help them deal with it all.
Dealing with the pain of grief at any age is a long process and usually benefits from an extended support system. When the lives lost belong to those who have hardly as yet even lived, the pain is sharper, more unyielding and requires even more assistance to help those in need to process the whole event.
Youngsters in Freehold Township found themselves in just such a situation two weeks ago following the deaths of Kevin Clawson, 13, and Graeme Preston, 12. The boys were on Bar Harbor Road on Feb. 27 when they were struck by a minivan. They died from injuries sustained in that accident.
Both boys attended the Eisenhower Middle School. Through the efforts of administrators in the Freehold Township School District, classmates who knew the boys were provided with grief counseling and comfort.
Superintendent of Schools William Setaro said as soon as administrators received word of the accident, the district’s crisis management plan was put into place.
The district has a school crisis management team and a district crisis management team. Both groups convened on the evening of Feb. 27 and members set in motion a plan that would help the youngsters “get through this horrible time,” according to Setaro.
In reviewing how the crisis teams performed, Setaro said he was proud of his staff and said they all went above and beyond what was expected of them.
“It’s all about the kids,” he said. “Team members worked the crisis plan with the heads, but also with their hearts.”
Grief counseling and comfort for the students were part of the plan. The Eisenhower Middle School, which has an enrollment of 800 pupils in grades six through eight, according to Setaro, remained open after school on Feb. 28 (the day after the accident) from 5:30-10 p.m. with counselors ready, willing and able to help the children deal with their fears and their grief.
Setaro said about 200 parents and children took advantage of the services offered by the school district. The crisis teams are comprised of teachers and staff members.
Also in attendance on the evening of Feb. 28 to provide comfort and counseling were representatives of CentraState Medical Center, the Freehold Community Counseling agency and the Dramatic Loss Coalition.
Representatives from the Freehold Regional High School District, the Millstone Township School District, the Long Branch School District and the Long Branch School Based Youth Organization also came to the Eisenhower school to offer assistance.
“On the morning of Feb. 28, we had teachers riding on some of the buses to help provide comfort and support for the students,” Setaro said. “We also had a debriefing with team members that day to see what worked and what didn’t work. We wanted to see if there were changes we needed to make or if there was any way to make things work better. When we received word (on Feb. 28) that Graeme died, we had teachers riding on every bus on the morning of Feb. 29.”S
etaro commended all of the staff members at the Eisenhower School, including the bus drivers, kitchen staff and everyone who had contact with the children. He said they were all wonderful and took the time to be caring and understanding with the children and helping them to deal with their grief.
“This speaks volumes about our staff,” the superintendent said.
Counseling and the comfort of being together as a group to grieve was the main component of the plan, which also included refreshments for the youngsters such as bagels and doughnuts.
School district spokeswoman Dawn Gravatt said counseling will continue to be available for any student who requires that service in the aftermath of the tragedy.

