Upper Township Schools Address Tragic Yearbook Mishap, Don’t Apologize

It's a sad situation in the Upper Township schools - and it might not get any better for some time.

It appears a young boy who passed away was not included in the just-released elementary school yearbook. What's worse, it appears he was actually cropped out of a group photo.

The Upper Township School District has published a post on Facebook acknowledging the situation - but, it doesn't appear that they are actually apologizing for the mistake.

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9 Year-Old Died in Traffic Accident

Easton Beisler, 9, of Upper Township, New Jersey died in an accident in September, 2024. According to 6 ABC, Easton died in an accident in the parking lot of a sports complex in Vineland. At the time, 6 ABC identified Easton as a fourth-grader at Upper Township Primary School.

Often when a student passes away, his or her school will publish some sort of remembrance in the school's nest yearbook. It appears Easton did not receive any such mention in the Upper Township yearbook.

According to the Facebook post from the school district, it appears that Easton's picture was also cropped out of a group photo.

Here's the post from Facebook:

Facebook error acknowledge

It appears that as soon as the yearbook was distributed, parents and community members noticed Easton's absence in the publication.

It is good that the district acknowledged the error. No doubt everyone involved with the yearbook's editing and publication feels terrible.

But - what about the post from the school district? It acknowledges "the pain and frustration" that many are feeling, but there's really no flat-out apology or acceptance of blame. Was it written by a lawyer?

The post does say they're communicating with Easton's family about the situation. Let's hope something positive comes out of those discussions. It's a shame that Upper Township may have to suffer twice.