Two months after Pittsfield student dies at school’s summer program, answers remain elusive | Local News

PITTSFIELD — Two months after a Pittsfield student apparently drowned during a school summer program, authorities have released little information about the circumstances that led to her death.

On July 17, Earl Giver Essien took a trip to Beartown State Forest in Monterey, where she swam in Benedict Pond with her peers from Herberg High School participating in the 21st Century Learning Program.

Essien, 12, went under the water even though a lifeguard was present. It is unclear how long she was under the surface before adults and students noticed she was missing. At one point, Essien was found unconscious in the water.

Essien, who moved to the Berkshires from Ghana months before her death, is to be buried at Anibil Cemetery in Ghana. Her peers and teachers remember her as a curious, kind and knowledge-seeking student whom Superintendent Joseph Curtis previously called a “justice seeker.”

The tragedy prompted state police, working with Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue’s office, to open an investigation that was reopened two months later.

“The complex investigation is still ongoing,” Julia Sabourin, a spokeswoman for Shugrue’s office, wrote in an email to The Eagle on Monday.

Sabourin declined to answer several questions, including whether authorities had yet determined the official cause of Essien’s death and what stage the investigation was at.

“When the investigation is complete, we will be able to answer many more questions,” she wrote.

Curtis did not respond to requests for comment. In a written update to the school community about Essien’s death on July 26, Curtis said the district was “fully cooperating” with the DA’s office investigation.

He also wrote that the district is “postponing any internal investigation and will not publicly answer any questions as an active investigation is ongoing.”

Meanwhile, questions are also being raised about the extent to which the school district has an obligation to ensure that students know how to swim before allowing them into Benedict Pond.

The rules, put in place after a child drowned in 2007, require camps to test minors on their swimming skills before allowing them to swim on the beach. The rules, known as “Christian’s Law,” also require programs to provide buoyancy devices for nonswimmers and “at-risk” swimmers.

“Christian’s Law applies to all licensed children’s recreational camps and municipal recreational programs,” a state Department of Public Health spokesman said by email when asked if the legislation applies to all youth camp programs. “Together, it would cover all ‘juvenile summer camps.’”

The program Essien participated in was funded by a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, a federal grant administered by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The program was required to follow “district-developed” health and safety protocols, according to DESE spokeswoman Jacqueline Reis. It’s still unclear what those protocols included or who developed them. Reis said the Pittsfield School District notified the state about Essien’s death and reiterated that state police are the lead agency in the investigation.

Asked whether the swimming proficiency test was included in the district’s safety plan and whether districts are required to submit those plans for state approval, Reis referred The Eagle to the Department of Public Health for general information on Christian’s Law.

When asked about the district’s obligations under Christian’s Law, a DPH spokesperson said “the local health authority can comment in more detail on the 21st Century Learning Program.”

Andy Cambi, the city’s public health director, said the health department issues permits required to operate recreational camps for children. However, he was not familiar with the permit requirements that public schools issue, he said.

He said his department was not involved in enforcing any provisions of the program during which Essien died.