Counselors will be available today at Columbus Signature Academy — Lincoln Elementary School to help classmates struggling with the death of a first-grade girl.
School officials met Thursday with staff members and informed them about the girl’s death, but students were not told at that time, said Larry Perkinson, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employee and student assistance coordinator.
Also Thursday, CSA-Lincoln staff called each family who has students in the girl’s class to inform them of her death, and a written notification was sent to all families who have children in the school, Perkinson said.
The child was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital early Thursday and was pronounced dead at 6:39 a.m., Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting said.
The girl’s name had not been released as of Thursday afternoon, as notification to all relatives about the death has not been completed, he said.
Cause of death has not yet been determined, but an autopsy for the girl is scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Columbus Regional Hospital, Nolting said.
The girl had tested positive for Influenza B and strep throat, he said.
