Kadena High School is operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — The Department of Defense Education Activity has released few details about the accidental death this week of a Kadena High School student.
The student “was involved in an accident and has died,” DODEA-Pacific spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday. A student at Kubasaki High School on Marine Corps Camp Foster was also involved, she said.
“Out of respect for the students and their families, we will not be releasing the students’ names,” she said.
Ferguson also declined to provide details about the nature of the accident, where it occurred or the Kubasaki student’s condition.
Okinawa Prefectural Police had no information about the accidental death of a minor outside the air base, a spokesman said by phone Tuesday. Some Japanese government officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
The Kadena student died on Monday, Jeff Cherry, assistant principal at Kadena High School, wrote in an email to parents the following day.
“Our students and staff are grieving the loss of a member of our school community,” he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was provided to Stars and Stripes. “Please know we have additional counselors on site today and will continue to have additional counseling support as long as necessary to support students in need.”
Teachers were instructed to read a statement to students in their classrooms on Tuesday morning informing them about the death and the availability of crisis counselors at the school, according to the letter.
The letter asked parents to watch their children for “abnormal reactions,” including continued rejection of support; withdrawal from family, friends and social activities; declining grades or loss of interest in school; inability to express feelings about the death; a sense of helplessness, hopelessness or emptiness; sudden new fears; loss of self-esteem or self-concept; disturbance in sleep patterns or recurring nightmares; or a preoccupation with death.
Parents were also advised to contact school counselors or psychologists if those signs or symptoms persist longer than one week.
Other available resources include Family Health, Family Services, Mental Health, a social worker, a religious leader or chaplain or a Military Family Life counselor, Cherry wrote.
Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
