Suicide Prevention

Immediate Actions

1. Upon notification of a crisis, the building Principal/Superintendent/Lead Administrator will initiate the Emergency Response Team Telephone Chain.
2. The building Principal/Superintendent/Lead Administrator will schedule a meeting of the SAU 70 Trauma Response Team to plan and prepare for staff and student response to the crisis prior to the next day of school if possible, or prior to the arrival of students and staff. The goal is to have at least one school counselor from each building in the district attend this meeting.
3. Building Principals will initiate the building level telephone call chain to notify staff of the event and to invite them to arrive at school 30 minutes early for a staff meeting.

At The SAU 70 Crisis Response Meeting (prior to staff meeting)

1. Share the facts as they are known at the time
   • determine information to be shared with building staff and students
   • provide accurate information (facts!), even though complete details may not be available
   • remember that it is better to not have answers than to try to infer for risk of providing inaccurate information
2. Discuss plans for the day
   • determine how/when information will be shared with students (i.e. read a statement in homeroom/common ground groups, parent letters)
   • schedule all staff/faculty meeting at the end of the day to process and plan for the next day/s
3. Determine who will serve as the primary contact with the family
4. Discuss potential feelings/reactions of staff/students
   • identify ‘high risk” staff/students who may need extra and more immediate support
   • be mindful of “fall out” from staff/students dealing with unrelated issues 
   • plan classroom coverage (substitutes) as appropriate/needed
5. Determine SAU 70 Crisis Response Team Members from other buildings are needed to offer support in the building. If so, determine which members are available and what their role/s will be.
6. Determine how information will be shared with staff at other buildings

At the Initial Building Staff Meeting

Pending the decision made at the meeting of the SAU 70 Crisis Response Team meeting, members of that team may be present to offer support and assistance as needed and appropriate. SAU 70 Crisis Response Team members serve as support to the building crisis team  - all of their efforts are overseen by the building crisis team. 

1. Share the facts as they are known at the time
   • determine information to be shared with building staff and students
   • provide accurate information (facts!), even though complete details may not be available
   • remember that it is better to not have answers than to try to infer for risk of providing inaccurate information
2. Discuss plans for the day
   • determine how/when information will be shared with students (i.e. read a statement in homeroom/common ground groups, parent letters)
   • schedule all staff/faculty meeting at the end of the day to process and plan for the next day/s
3. Designated members of the building and district SAU 70 Crisis Response Teams talk with staff
   • describe some of the feelings students/staff may be experiencing immediately in the days following the crisis event (disbelief, anger, denial, sadness, guilt, loss) - though the range of emotional/behavioral responses may vary widely, it is generally important to resume normal routines and structure as soon as possible
   • offer suggestions for helping students cope with these feelings
   • discuss the needs of children and adolescents at different stages of development with regard to response to trauma/crisis
   • be mindful of “fall out” from staff/students dealing with unrelated issues 
4. Allow for faculty/staff to express feelings and encourage them to support one another
5. Identify “high-risk” students who may need extra support
   • develop plan (including staff and space requirements) for addressing their needs
   • provide individual follow-up with each of these students - follow up may need to be ongoing

Sharing Information with Guardians 

During a crisis, news of a traumatic event may travel quickly throughout the community.  In an effort to inform parents of a traumatic event in a reasonably quick manner, each principal will send an email to parents 15 minutes prior to sharing information with students.  The email will include the script which will be read to students and the plan to read the script during homeroom/advisory.  The email will ask parents to contact their child’s school counselor if they are in need of family support.  Allowing a 15 minute gap in sharing information between parents and students will provide parents an opportunity to contact the school if they have specific concerns related to their child due to the proximity of the traumatic event and their child (a student’s partner was in a bad car accident).  In a case where a student is closely related to the event, special attention may involve hearing the traumatic news from their counselor prior to the homeroom/advisory period.

Sharing Information with Students

1. Information should be shared in small groups by either homeroom teachers (RMS, Ray and MCS) or advisors (HHS).
2. A script will be provided to each homeroom teacher and advisor electronically.  Teachers will be asked to read from the script.  The script will include a sentence that directs any student who wishes to receive support to the counseling offices. 
3. Homeroom and Advisory teachers will be asked to notify any student who has a strong reaction to the news and communicate this information with a member of the counseling department.
4. Teachers who may need assistance in reading the script will be provided administrative support which may include a teacher/counselor/administrator joining the teacher during the homeroom/advisory period.

At the End of the Day

1. share any new information that may have become available
2. allow for expression of feelings and mutual support
3. review students identified as “high-risk” - share observations
4. review events of the day
5. provide opportunities for faculty/staff to ask questions and share concerns - problem solve accordingly
6. based on feedback, plan for the next day/s

Ongoing and/or Upcoming Considerations

1. Arrangements for substitutes for memorial or funeral services
2. Continue to provide individual care ot high-risk staff/students
3. Determine procedures for long-term follow-up
4. Provide closure and care for building and SAU 70 Crisis Response Team members (debrief and wrap-up)
5. Call in community resources as needed (ie. hospice, deer creek, west central, local clergy)
6. Plan for memorial/s and/or other activities of remembrance