Jersey City has lost two public school students within roughly 10 days. Superintendent Dr. Norma Fernandez confirmed both deaths Tuesday at a Board of Education community meeting.
Key Takeaways
- A 12-year-old sixth grader at Christa McAuliffe School (P.S. 28) died by suicide over the weekend, confirmed by Board Counsel Ramon Rivera at the same Tuesday meeting.
- A Henry Snyder High School student, publicly identified as Zanila Benekin, 17, died June 1 after spending approximately a month on a ventilator following a head injury sustained during an asthma attack.
- Superintendent Dr. Norma Fernandez urged the public to stop sharing unverified information on social media, while the board declined to release any details surrounding the younger student’s death.
Superintendent Speaks Before Any Other Business
Fernandez stepped to the podium before any other proceedings at a Board of Education community meeting that also served as a special education town hall. The first student was a 12-year-old sixth grader enrolled at Christa McAuliffe School (P.S. 28), who died over the weekend. The second was a student at Henry Snyder High School, who had died the prior weekend.
Fernandez said she could not confirm the identities of either student. The sixth grader’s identity has been verified but is being withheld to protect the family’s privacy.
A Call for Grief, Silence, and Restraint
Fernandez opened with condolences to the sixth grader’s family, calling on the community to hold the student’s family in their thoughts and remember the light she brought to those around her. She asked everyone to join the Board of Education in a moment of silence in the student’s memory…