UPDATE: Counseling offered following student death

Fruitland Primary School (“FPS”) officials are offering counseling to families following news that a 2nd grade student recently died of injuries sustained in a near drowning.

Jy’rah Brown was reportedly pulled out of Leonard Mill Pond on June 26.

Authorities tell 47ABC he was initially taken to Peninsula Regional Medical Center before being treated in Baltimore.

FPS principal Dave Harris says it’s important for parents to be open and honest with students who may have questions.

In a letter sent to parents, Harris writes “Unanswered questions can cause them confusion and distort their ability to accept and understand loss.  Please avoid terms such as “pass away” or “go to sleep” as these phrases have multiple meanings and can create additional anxieties for primary age children who are concrete thinkers.  It is perfectly normal for the conversation to last no more than a few minutes.”

Counselors will be available tomorrow at FPS from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday.