School board endorses plan to support at-risk students

In an effort to combat the alarming rate of Canton middle schoolers who have reported suicidal thoughts, the Canton School Committee voted last week to support a plan for additional program and staff supports as outlined by a team of CPS administrators.

The latest statistics on suicidal thoughts, as well as high rates of alcohol and drug use among Canton middle and high school students, were all gleaned from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted last school year. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state Department of Public Health, conducts the survey in randomly selected public school districts every odd-numbered year.

In early December, K-12 wellness director Katey Swanson and student services director Deb Bromfield reported the key findings from the 2015 survey, which also covered topics such as sexual activity, tobacco use, and dietary behaviors.

At the Galvin Middle School, 15 percent of those surveyed (436 students), including more than 18 percent of GMS eighth graders, said they have seriously contemplated killing themselves, compared to a state average of just 8 percent. The responses were higher for girls (17.8 percent) than for boys (12.6 percent).

Swanson, Bromfield, CPS nurse leader Kim Clark Connor, and 6-12 guidance director Meredith Chamberland have been meeting since December to analyze the findings and come up with a new course of action.

Part of that action plan has since been built into the next school budget, including requests by Interim Superintendent Jen Henderson for additional counseling and home-school interventionist staff as well as increased screenings for anxiety, depression, and suicide.

Other recommendations made by Henderson and her administrative team and subsequently backed by the School Committee include the formation of a new committee to analyze data on social/emotional learning needs; expansion of the “no homework” idea piloted for December vacation to all school vacations; and development of a plan so that every student in the district can identify at least one staff member that they could go to with their problems.

The School Department is also planning a suicide prevention and depression awareness program for seventh graders this June and again in the fall, as well as a parent coffee with counselors on May 4 and other activities for the next school year.

Counselors have also been attending training sessions on mental health and mediation solutions, suicide prevention, the use of data in counseling, and anxiety and depression.

Speaking to the committee last Thursday, Bromfield cited a San Diego State report that indicated that suicide numbers are rising everywhere — not just in Canton. “The numbers are alarming,” she acknowledged, “but we are looking to see that we have something for everybody along the way.”

Chamberland added that today’s youth do not have enough down time as they navigate the demands of school, extracurriculars, work, and social media. “There is no off switch for kids,” she said. “They really need time to separate.”

In related news Thursday night, Henderson summarized some of the educational impacts of the new opioid legislation …

See this week’s Canton Citizen to read the full version of this story. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=33033

Posted by Mike Berger on Apr 14 2016. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.