Francis Howell School District
Weldon Spring, MO
Suicide Prevention
Students’ mental health contributes to their academic success in school and to their leading happy and healthy lives. In the middle grades, early adolescent development can be something of a mystery to many parents. Francis Howell Middle School’s Family and Community Engagement Team (F.A.C.E.) follows a strategy of organizing discussions and presentations on topics that are of interest to and suggested by parents, students, and teachers. A student member on the team suggested that parents should be able to identify the signs of teen depression and understand suicide prevention strategies. Parents on the team and other parents agreed. Many wanted to know more about how to identify, prevent, and, if necessary, address signs of depression and thoughts of suicide in their children.
The F.A.C.E. Team, administrators, and counselors, organized a session on suicide prevention as part of the school’s monthly Parent Speaker Series. Presenters included a school counselor and two experts from community health organizations. The session was advertised using flyers, social media, and the school marquee, along with an e-newsletter and e-mail. The F.A.C.E. Team surveyed students in their Character Connection class to determine the relevance of the topic for parents. The data indicated that 43% of students felt very sad some of the time; 21% of students reported feeling hopeless about the future some of the time; and 4% reported considering suicide at some point in time. The student surveys confirmed the importance of helping parents know more about how to discuss these topics with their early adolescents. This is a difficult topic to address, but parents knew that the school was a good, safe place to learn more and ask questions.
Suicide Prevention: What You Need to Know is featured in Promising Partnership Practices 2019.
#HighSchool
Francis Howell Middle School (FHMS) has worked to ensure that incoming 6th graders and their families have several opportunities to get familiar and comfortable with the school before they make the transition from elementary school. As they advance to Grade 8, students and families need the same support to make a successful transition to high school.
The F.A.C.E. team began by analyzing what made the incoming 6th grade program successful, and developed #High School (Hashtag High School) for the eighth graders and their parents who were moving on. The team brought together the FHMS eighth grade students and families with current high school students, parents, and staff. At the middle school, the students and parents could ask questions, raise concerns, gather information, and get a picture of life in high school. At #High School, a member of the F.A.C.E. team facilitated the discussion. About a dozen panelists (i.e., high school students, parents, and teachers) gave short presentations. Then, middle school students and parents could ask questions directly, or they could write their questions on cards for the facilitator to share. Over the evening, questions focused on the quality of high school life, courses, homework, lockers, lunches, social groups, activities, and more. Parents and students received important information that alleviated some of their anxiety about the journey ahead.
