1 week after Random Lake bus crash, most of the injured students are back in school

RANDOM LAKE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Monday, Sept. 23, marks one week since dozens of students in Random Lake were involved in a school bus crash.

A driver blew a stop sign and slammed into the bus, knocking it over. Eight students were hospitalized.

Now, district leaders tell us just about every student injured in the crash has recovered from their physical injuries. But they also said they know that caring for their mental health may take a lot longer.

Rebecca Charbonneau, the Random Lake Elementary principal, told us, "We started with bringing the whole group together and giving them a chance to talk about the whole situation that happened. And we did it at all three levels."

So far, the return to school is going as smoothly as it can for the eight students hospitalized after the bus crash. School administrators are leaning heavily on the counseling staff as students come back.

Heidi Harry's children were not on the bus but were still affected. She told us, "My kids come home, and they talk about it and they talk about how the kids are so brave to have come back to school already. They're just happy to see their friends back."

Heidi is a board member of the F.O.R Kids PTO. She's helping organize the annual color run that coincides with homecoming.

This year they decided to evenly split all the profits among the families of the injured students.

A record of more than 200 people have already signed up, with many more eager to donate.

At the crash site, there is still plenty of debris from the accident laying in the street, but no additional signage notifying drivers of the stop signs.

Susan McDonald, the principal of the Random Lake High/Middle School, said, "Our first priority was having them interact with the bus driver, Mr. Hall. They were concerned about him; he was concerned about them."

Administrators have been in constant communication with the classroom teachers to monitor any concerns. And they're making sure families and students are aware of every resource available.

McDonald said the response to the crash has helped bring the school community closer together. "What's really important is taking care of each other and seeing to those needs."

And parents say that level of care has been noticed and appreciated by the students and their families.

Heidi Harry said, "I'm proud that my kids go to school here. That I feel like the teachers and the community care about them."

Click here for more information on how you can help with that fundraiser for the families impacted by medical bills.