Of course not, and huge congratulations to your daughter, it’s obviously a fantastic school, and I am sure she will have a wonderful experience.
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PA handled this rather well. I heard PA had emphasized awareness and opened supportive meetings regarding the mental health issue. Even when last year after suicidal event happened in Cushing academy, PA encouraged their student and parents community, reaching out and showing concerns.
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I think they would do better by decreasing the overall stress they place on students. These are still kids.
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Perhaps, @maybeboardingmom , but teen suicides are up everywhere, not just at high pressure schools. . Being a teen has never been easy (although it’s easy to look back and think it was because, wow, the novelty and excitement was a rush!) , and there are a lot of new stressors for young people to negotiate now. It is shocking how many young people are under the care of a mental health professional and at the same time, thank goodness they are!
I think all of us can do our tiny bit by really listening to kids (ours and others), acknowledging their challenges, and affirming who they are and not simply what they “win”.
As a parent, we need to understand that these schhols, great as they are, may NOT be a good fit for our kids. (I have written before how probably one of the best things that happened to my kid was getting rejected from a high pressure school I would probably have encouraged him to attend because I just didn’t know him or the school well enough! Bullet dodged!)
And we also have to honor our kids if they really wanted to transfer after having made a good go of it. There are several stories here of kids who really needed to be in a better place. And some were leaving places others went to.
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Lville has a webinar for new parents coming up and was happy to see wellness was on the docket.
Posters are requested not to repeat hearsay especially if it reflects negatively on high schools students
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This was just published: After Student’s Suicide, an Elite School Says It Fell ‘Tragically Short’ - The New York Times.
It’s behind a paywall, unfortunately…
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What a devastating story at Lawrenceville. I read the article thoroughly, did I miss the paragraph that detailed the firing of the headmaster? Oh wait, they didn’t fire the headmaster? They think this public mea culpa and donations to mental health organizations are enough? Heads should roll at Lawrenceville, starting at the absolute tippy top. What a disgrace.
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Gift link: After Student’s Suicide, an Elite School Says It Fell ‘Tragically Short’ - The New York Times
The article is essentially a retelling of the report that the school made, which was released to all of us this past December.
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I am curious : Did anyone lose their job as a result of this gross negligence? If not, what message does that send to current and prospective families? I’m a PA grad myself, and never in a million years would I send my children to a boarding school these days even though I had what most would consider a “successful” experience there. I’m truly devastated to read what happened at L’ville and am so so sorry for this family and for all the students there. Again : an utter failure by an outrageous number of adults.
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Bullying is real. I don’t understand why private schools don’t take it as seriously as a public school as the article suggests.
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Lawrenceville should be shut down.
Do some private schools look for the wrong students? They focus on achievements, but what about all the other qualities needed for a good person?
Schools try to fix problems after they happen. Why don’t they rethink their admissions policies to address root causes of the problem?
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How devastating. I have a relative who was asked to leave her boarding school after a mental health crisis that occurred at school and resulted in a hospitalization. Turned out she was being bullied. She came home, got the mental healthcare that her family could provide, got a part time job, and is getting her high school degree through the public system now. Sometimes, that is necessary and hopefully the schools of all kinds are becoming more proactive about identifying the factors that contribute to student mental health crises and addressing them, even if it means that the student has to start over at another school.
This relative’s experience is why I am not considering boarding for my children any longer. I did for the older one for a time and then, when he was successful at another high school, he decided to stop pursuing admittance and we supported his decision. Of course, it’s right for some children and some families, but not ours.
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This is almost identical to mine and many other’s story. I now am top of my junior class, have a 4.21/4.3 maximum GPA at my LPS, have gotten numerous athletic acknowledgments and awards, participate in numerous clubs/competitions, and at the same time I am happy, making valuable friendships with peers, and I’m even closer with adults and teachers at my LPS. My teachers aren’t just my teachers, but my coaches; and adults that I couldn’t imagine my life without.
Not to mention I’m much better supported by the learning center since I have ADHD and high functioning ASD. I still feel normal at public school and not so out of place for being neurodivergent.
Nothing wrong with public schools in general.
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It breaks my heart that after everything that has happened at these schools, not much has been done to change it. Maybe it’s the nature of kids living away from home, the competitiveness of the school, or an inadequate admissions process. This has to be fixed, and if it’s an issue that can’t be fixed, schools that cannot support its students should be shutdown.
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Harvard Westlake just had TWO suicides within 3 months! One 10th-grade girl in March and an 18 yo boy a few weeks back. I can’t stop thinking about those poor families. The dad of the girl just took his life a few days ago.
The culture of that place, or at any tippy-top highly competitive school, is shameful: the crush for ‘the most rigorous’ classes, crazy ECs, the drive to take double-digit APs, getting into college… it’s too much. When is enough enough? I’m hopeful that this article will make schools wake up and realize that these tragedies fall at their doorstep. Just my opinion, naturally… take it with a grain of salt. I don’t want to offend anyone here.
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Maybe at some places for some kids, but nothing you list seemingly had anything to do with the poor kid at Lawrenceville.
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Tragic story and outcome - compounded by the ineptness of the administration and leaders in this scenario.
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