October 30, 2026 | By Zoie Saunders Editor’s Note: Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders visited Harwood Union Middle/High School on Thursday, Oct. 29, to talk to students there and offer her support in light of recent car accidents that took the lives of two Harwood students. Below is a transcript of her remarks shared in two assemblies in the middle school and the high school.
I am joining you today at a really difficult and sad time for your community, and I wanted to come and just share some of my thoughts, because I’ve really been thinking a lot about you during this time.
Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders speaking at the high school assembly. Photo by Gordon Miller
So as you’ve heard, my name is Zoe Saunders, and I’m Vermont’s Secretary of Education. I work at the Agency of Education, and our job is to help districts achieve our statewide education goals. But when times of tragedy hit, we have a really specific role. We help our districts coordinate with other state agencies to make services and supports available to students who are experiencing trauma or loss. And I know that your soul has already shared a lot of resources and ways that you can connect to process your feelings. And I want to make sure you feel really comfortable knowing how to access those resources.
But today I’m here just to talk to you as Zoie. I’m here as somebody who has experienced a lot of loss at a young age. And as an adult, I still struggle sometimes to make meaning of life when tragedies hit, and those tragedies just don’t make sense. And they are just unfair.
When I learned about Gracie’s death, and Vinny’s death earlier this year, I was immediately transported back to January of 1998, when I was in eighth grade. My parents were away for the weekend. I was having a sleepover at my friend, Heather Heyworth’s house, and my parents called the Heyworth house because he didn’t have cell phones back then). And they called to tell me that Katie Platt had been in a car accident, and that Katie had died. Her older sister was driving. They were coming back from a party. She lost control of the car, and had terrible accident, and Katie died. She was 15.
Katie and I were friends when we were younger, but we had kind of grown apart because we were attending different schools, and we were involved in different extracurricular activities. But what I remember most about her was how welcoming she was. Despite the fact that many of her friends thought I was too young or too uncool maybe, to hang out with them. And she was fun and full of life, and kind. And all of a sudden, she was gone.
And I’m sure many of you are processing this in a lot of different ways. And when I heard the news, my parents told me about Katie, my friends and I all responded in different ways. And I want you all to feel okay and comfortable with the fact that you may be processing this differently, this loss that you’re experiencing. And that you may be responding in different ways. And that’s okay.
And over the weekend, when I learned about, Gracie’s death, I was feeling nearly 30 years later, that same aching feeling when my parents told me that Katie had died. And it’s hard for me now, looking back, not to connect that experience of how I felt, learning about Katie’s death, with all the other loss that I experienced pretty shortly after, including my dad dying of cancer.
And your community is going through something similar. You’ve experienced a lot of loss in a very short period of time. Just this year, your district lost a faculty member; you lost two fellow students.
That type of loss is really, really hard to process, right? And I want you to hear from me today that it’s okay to feel how you’re feeling.
For some of you, you may just not be able to believe that Gracie has died. Maybe some of you saw her, or family members, on Saturday, and her death just doesn’t seem possible. For others, maybe you may not have known Gracie or Vinny well, but now you wish you had. For some of you, when you say their name, or you think about them, you may cry today and for a long time.
And for some of you, you may find a lot of different emotions. You might feel sad, you might feel angry, you might feel frustrated, numb, a lot of different feelings. And it’s okay for you to feel the way that you’re feeling.
Importantly, I want you to know that people here in your district and in your community care about you and are here to support you. The loss that you’ve experienced here in your community at Harwood is heartbreaking. And no matter how you’re feeling about it now, you are part of this moment, and it has impacted you. And it might be that it has impacted you in ways that, yet you don’t quite understand.
Education Secretary Zoie Saunders addresses Harwood 7th and 8th graders. Photo by Gordon Miller
And everyone processes grief differently, and so I’ll just share a little bit about how I’ve done that. For me, in times of great sadness, I’ve tried to focus on things that give me purpose, things that I’m grateful for, or things that inspire me. And sometimes that’s as simple as taking a moment to reflect on and admire a beautiful sunset. Or call a friend to say “hi,” or maybe find a quiet space where I can reflect on a happy or maybe funny memory with someone who’s not here with me anymore.
The type of loss that your community has experienced tends to put life in perspective and remind you of what’s most important and what you hold most dear. And so my wish for you, during this difficult and sad time, is that you’re able to take the moments to be comforted by the beauty around you, feel loved by those who support you, and also that you find moments that remind you of the joy, possibility, and happiness, that life also brings.
And so as I close today, I just want to reinforce a couple really important points. The state of Vermont cares about you. Your district cares about you. Your principal and teachers care about you, and they’re here to support you. It’s okay to feel how you’re feeling. Everyone will be grieving differently. I just want you to know how you can access support from your community and reach out when you want to process how you’re feeling down the road.
And so I’m pleased to join you today … I just want you to know that there are a lot of people who really care about you and are here to support you in processing however you’re feeling, as you all have experienced a lot of tragedy at a young age, and in a very short period of time in your community.