September 2, 2022

Dear Columbus Academy Families,

With tremendous sadness, I write to inform you of the sudden death of Columbus Academy student Reese Zong ’26. Reese, sister of Michelle ’20, had just started with us as a new ninth-grader and was an ambitious, analytical and kind young woman. Our collective hearts go out to her family as they struggle with this unimaginable loss.

When tragedy strikes our school, our most important responsibility is to all our students, and we will be helping them in age-appropriate ways, particularly in the Upper School, as they learn this news. Faculty, staff and counselors in our Lower and Middle Schools will be able to help children as they may learn the news through siblings and contact with older students and families.

Psychologists and counselors are available to students throughout the entire day, and our Student Support Services Office is arranging for grief counselors to be on campus as the need arises.

Should you or anyone you know be seeking resources on how to deal with overwhelming emotions caused by sad events like this, please refer to these links provided by our counseling team:

Academy Counseling Team Resources for Parents

Managing Strong Emotional Reactions to Traumatic Events (NASP Resources) 

In such a difficult time, we need to look to each other because strength lies in our community.

Sincerely yours,

Melissa Soderberg

Head of School