|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Students at the San Ramon Valley Unified School District are among the pilot cohort along with 14 other school districts across the country for a “District Comprehensive Approach” pilot program organized by the nonprofit JED Foundation and the American Association of School Administrators.
The program – described in an announcement from the district as one that “guides districts in improving support systems for pre-K-12 students’ emotional well-being” – kicked off on March 20, with the goal of providing learning opportunities about mental health and suicide prevention practices.
“School leaders know that getting in front of the youth mental health crisis requires thinking far beyond one-size-fits-all approaches,” says David R. Schuler, AASA Executive Director David Schuler said in the March 28 announcement. “That’s why we’re partnering with JED to launch a comprehensive, transformative, and scalable district-wide approach that is designed to meet this urgent need. This initiative will provide an evidence-based framework combined with the expert support, best practices, and data-driven guidance our students, families, staff, and caregivers deserve.”
Participants in the program are set to receive a strategic plan developed for the district about developing mental health and suicide prevention programming for students, with SRVUSD and the other districts in this year’s cohort also receiving technical assistance from the Jed Foundation as they implement plans and programming.
“The District Comprehensive Approach by JED in partnership with AASA is a milestone moment marking the start of systemic and structural change for youth mental health and suicide prevention across the public education system,” said Tony Walker, senior vice president of academic programs at the JED Foundation. “This first group of district cohort participants are true trailblazers, reinventing how schools help students — and their mental health — thrive, not just in their hometown, but now, nationwide.”
Organizers emphasized the need for mental health and suicide prevention services among rising rates of depression and suicide in young people, pointing to statistics from the CDC that include 42% of high school students reporting depression symptoms in the past year, with the increase being especially prominent for female students at 56% in the past year compared with 36% in 2011, as well as suicide being the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 34.
While suicide prevention efforts for kindergarten and elementary students have not been as prominent as those for teens, suicide rates for children between 5 and 11 have been increasing at a rate of 15% per year.
SRVUSD Superintendent John Malloy, who is departing the district for a position with AASA at the end of the academic year, heralded the importance of the program’s efforts and its fit within the district’s priorities.
“We embrace the District Comprehensive Approach to promote mental health and suicide prevention efforts not only within our district, but also throughout the community and, eventually, across the country,” Malloy said.
“Our goal is to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness, increase awareness of available resources, and empower students to develop resilience, coping skills, and help-seeking behaviors,” he added. “We aspire to continue learning, growing, and implementing best practices to ensure our students receive the support they need to thrive emotionally, academically and personally.”