Superintendent issues statement on tragic death of Belmont High student

Hey. Just a note that Superintendent Entwistle issued a statement today concerning the tragic death, yesterday afternoon, of a Belmont High School Senior, who was struck by a Commuter Rail train on the tracks behind Belmont High School. The statement can be viewed on the Belmont Public Schools Web site and was also copied to other online discussion groups in town. The statement is brief and so I’ll just reprint it in its entirety here. It reads:

The school community and the Belmont community are shocked and saddened by the death of one of our seniors at Belmont High School early Thursday afternoon, November 5th, 2009.

Since that time, school representatives have worked closely with Belmont Police and MBTA authorities to more fully understand the details of this very tragic situation.

Significant effort and resources have been directed to addressing the needs of students, staff and parents as they attempt to cope with this loss.

In the days and weeks to come, we will remain attentive and responsive to the needs that emerge from this tragedy.  We are encouraged and heartened by the support of the Belmont community and other neighboring communities.

Dr. George Entwistle
Superintendent of Schools

As things stand now, the MBTA is still investigating the accident and has been making repairs to the fencing along the length of tracks from the High School down to Brighton Street. For those of you who haven’t read it, the Citizen Herald article on the tragedy is here. A link to the press conference is here.