Teachers and students at Washington High School and Academy in Princess Anne are trying to return to a routine.
But it's not easy, Principal Sidney Hankerson said.
Not when they're grieving the loss of 15-year-old freshman Tyjuziana Todd, who along with her six siblings and their father, Rodney, were found dead in their home Monday of carbon monoxide poisoning.
"We had a few staff members who had a hard time coming to terms with what happened," Hankerson said Wednesday. "For some it was rough. They had to leave the room and gather composure, especially when it came to class time."
The tiny Somerset County school system had to bring in extra counselors from outside districts and the health department to help deal with the tragedy, schools spokesman Leo Lawson said.
The seven Todd children attended three of the district's 10 schools. Tyjuziana attended Washington High; Cameron, 13, and Tykeria, 12, attended Somerset Intermediate; and Tynijuzia, 10; Tyniah, 9; Zhiheem, 7; and Tyberyia, 6, attended Princess Anne Elementary.
"This one was unprecedented," said Lawson, who noted that the school system was still reeling from the death of a student in a car accident before spring break. "Teachers are struggling with it."
Princess Anne police were called to the family's home Monday after Todd's supervisor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore — where Todd worked in dining services — grew concerned because he had not talked to him since March 28. Inside, they found all eight family members dead. It appeared that they had gone to sleep for the night and never awakened, police said.
Police found a generator with an empty gas tank inside the home. Lloyd Edwards said his stepson used the generator because the electricity had been shut off.
Delmarva Power said the home had been without service since March 25, when workers discovered a stolen electric meter and shut off power for "safety reasons." The utility originally disconnected power there in October, before the Todds began renting the home, and Delmarva said no request had been made to reconnect service.
Police said Wednesday that they were winding down their investigation after the medical examiner determined that the deaths were accidental.
Somerset County Commissioner Craig N. Mathies Sr., whose district includes the Todds' modest, yellow-siding-covered home on Antioch Avenue, said of the children's father: "I know he was trying to provide for them, but that's putting your family in extreme danger.
"It's just a sad sad change of events," Mathies said. "It really points to the fact that our society can go all around the world and we have so many people who are in need, people who are trying to provide for their families and you have a tragedy like this."
Family members said they were making funeral arrangements.
"We had a lot of church members come to the home last night, family members and friends," said Edwards, Todd's stepfather. "A gathering of people sitting back and talking, expressing condolences. Some stayed four or five hours."
The funeral for Todd and his children will be held April 18 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Viewing is at 10 a.m. and services are at 1 p.m. at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts.
Edwards' wife, Bonnie, described each of her grandchildren.
Tyjuziana was a "laid-back type of lady" who helped out around the house and watched over her younger siblings. Cameron was a 6-foot-3 basketball and football player, a "respectful young man," she said.
Tykeria was outgoing and regularly joked around with her siblings and friends.
Tynijuzia loved playing a Nintendo Wii dance game her father had bought the children, and she challenged anyone willing to a dance-off, including her grandmother.
Tyniah would have turned 9 in May. She brought home report cards full of As and Bs to Edwards, who gave her grandchildren $1 for each "A" they earned in school.
Zhiheem, 7, "thought he was a wrestler," she said. He tore around the house, "jumping and flipping on the beds."
The youngest, Tyberyia, had her sixth birthday on Saturday. "She was such a happy, jolly person who admired her father. She loved her father," she said.
At Washington High School, Hankerson said that since the tragedy, students in Tyjuziana's English class released balloons with her name on it. The school also hung a large poster across one of the entryway walls where students have been writing messages remembering her.
The student government has been selling purple ribbons — Tyjuziana's favorite color — to raise money for her family, or possibly a charity to remember her.
And on Friday, Hankerson said, the school is planning to adorn the school building's two front columns with bows — one to remember her, another to remember her family.
"It's just a tragic incident. I know it will take maybe months if not years to truly heal from this. I think during times like this, the community comes together," he said.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this story.
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