Unfathomable heartbreak strikes New London community

NEW LONDON — Thursday morning as most Clark Elementary first grade students in New London prepared for a highly anticipated field trip, the family of Keegan Miller experienced a completely different kind of morning.

“Today’s word of the day is fathom which can be used as a verb that means to understand the reason for something,” Clark Elementary’s announcements said.

They had no idea the unfathomable morning Keegan’s parents just experienced.

“On the morning of April 27, 2023, Sweet Keegan was supposed to go on a school trip with his 1st grade class, instead he went to heaven,” a brief description on a Go Fund Me page created by Danny Noble read.

With a goal of $10,000, Noble asked his community to join him in supporting Keegan’s family in their time of need.

“Keegan's family will need to pay for his unexpected funeral expenses,” he wrote.

To support his family monetarily as they navigate this loss, visit www.gofundme.com/keegan-miller

According to Noble, Keegan always wore a smile, and enjoyed his short life despite suffering from epilepsy.

“He leaves behind his dad, mommy, step dad, little brother and grandparents,” Noble wrote.

Keegan’s cousin Chevy Mills said that she and Keegan were close, and he was the sweetest kid she knew.

“Everytime I went to the elementary for student council or for NHS I was excited to see him in his class,” she said. “He would always come up to me with the biggest grin and tell everyone that I was his big cousin.”

According to Mills, Keegan held a special place in the hearts of his family as he came to them at the same time her Aunt Jen passed away from cancer.

“He was our family miracle,” she said.

Mills asked her community to send prayers for her family as they mourn this loss.

“All of us at New London were saddened to receive news this morning of the death of Keegan Miller, one of our first-grade students,” the New London Community School District said in a letter to parents and caregivers.

According to the school district letter, Clark Elementary’s first grade students received the news of their classmate’s death when they returned from their fieldtrip Thursday afternoon.

To support these students, the district has partnered with the Great Prairie AEA Crisis Response Team to provide support.

When told about this tragedy, the district provided the support teachers, counselors, administrators, and AEA staff for the students.

They also ensured that these supports would remain in place for as long as needed, especially when students first learned of the news.

“The AEA Crisis Response Team is assisting us in helping students work through this, and they will continue to assist in the coming days and weeks,” a district representative stated.

“We all react in individual ways to tragic events,” the district letter to parents and caregivers stated. “Things such as children’s developmental level, their relationships with the people impacted, their previous experiences of loss, and their personal perceptions of death will impact how they will work through this event.”

The district encouraged the community to expect, try to understand, and accept a variety of emotions and behaviors.

“The most important things we can do are to be supportive and encourage discussion about the events, our feelings, and what we can do in response to it,” the letter stated.

For parents in the community trying to navigate how to support their children through this heartbreak, the district offered the following suggestions to help their students work through this news:

Be available and willing to discuss the events and honestly share your feelings about them.

Allow your student to express fears and feelings. Let him/her question things without being judgmental.

Maintain your daily routines as it offers students a sense of security.

Be present and watchful of your student in the days and weeks ahead. Watch for any changes in behavior. If you do notice changes, talk them over with a school counselor.

Give assurance of love, support, and safety.

Be patient. Students may express a variety of emotions within a short period of time.

Additionally, the district encouraged families to reach out to the school counselors.

School counselors Kinsey Michelson can be reached at 319-367-0507, ext. 1311, or email kinsey.michelson@nlcsd.org and Jackie Houseman can be reached at 319-367-0500, ext. 1202 or email jackie.housman@nlcsd.org.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com