by Brendan Sample

More than a week after a bus full of eighth-grade students and teachers from the C.W. Henry School in Mt. Airy overturned on I-95 in Maryland, the school remains on the mend while also exhibiting a strong sense of unity.

Although three students and special education teacher Brittany Jacobs are all still in the hospital as of the writing of this piece, with Jacobs in critical condition, the school community has rallied together to help, perhaps most notably through two GoFundMe Web pages that reached their goals in a matter of days.

With the first page set up for Jacobs and a second for the students, more than $27,000 has been raised between the two, with more coming in each day. Both pages hit their respective goals of $5,000 and $15,000 in less than a week, as hundreds of individual donations were made by friends, family members and others showing their support. Even amidst all of the hurt and confusion surrounding the accident, this generosity has certainly not gone unnoticed by those at C.W. Henry.

“The overall school community is amazed, overwhelmed, and humbled from the incredible outpouring of support that the two fundraisers have received, and from how far and wide donations have come,” said Derren Mangum, president of the C.W. Henry School Parent Teacher Association, in an email to the Chestnut Hill Local.

As several people are still hospitalized after the accident, there remains a sense of uncertainty among the members of the school community. While it is definitely not an easy situation to overcome, students and faculty alike have managed to show strength in dealing with a difficult situation.

“I think the past week has been shocking for everyone, but the school community has exhibited great resilience,” Mangum said. “It really demonstrates the close-knit family we have at Henry. I've been in awe at how the school administration and staff have responded under these extraordinary circumstances.”

With this occurring toward the end of the school year, the normal end-of-the-year routine has certainly been interrupted. Even with this affecting the entire school, especially the graduating eighth grade class, the administration remains focused on maintaining as much of a sense of normalcy as possible as the students prepare for their summer vacation.

“The school is focused on helping the students who are able to return to school have as smooth a transition and possible, while maintaining as much of a sense of normalcy for all students and families,” Mangum explained. “The end of the year is usually one of celebration of all the hard work and achievement of the past year, and I think we all hope to maintain that this year as much as possible, especially for our eighth graders.”

While the accident remains a shocking incident for the entire school community, the past week has certainly been indicative of how those at C.W. Henry have been able to come together and show their strength through unity. Moving forward will be difficult, particularly with Jacobs and the three students all still hospitalized, but the community remains hopeful that things will start returning to normal in both the near and far future.

“As we focus on the short-term aspects of recovery, we know that this is a long-term process of healing, and I hope people who are interested in assisting will keep C.W. Henry in their thoughts, and continue to follow developments to see what needs may come to light,” Mangum said.

For more information on those that were injured or to donate, you can visit the GoFundMe pages listed below:

Brittany Jacobs' gofundme is here.

The eighth-grade class page is here.

Brendan Sample can be reached at brendan@chestnuthilllocal.com