<p>Right away, I apologize for raising this tragic subject, but we think it is important and we have not found discussion of it anyplace else.</p>
<p>First, does anyone know how the suicide rate of BS students compares with public high school students? I realize that within each of these two genres there is a broad spectrum of schools, and if anyone has information that usefully sub-divides them that will be quite helpful too.</p>
<p>Second, among the top boarding schools, are there any significant differences in suicide rates,
by schools, by geography, by school types, etc. etc.?</p>
<p>Thank you in advance for any thoughtful inputs on this difficult subject.</p>
<p>According to a survey done at Phillips Academy Andover, 2% of the students had attempted suicide during the past year, while SADD reported that nationwide 16.9% of high school students had seriously considered attempting suicide for the past year ([Welcome</a> to SADD](<a href=“http://www.sadd.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.sadd.org)). Not totally the same thing, but that’s the closest I could get. </p>
<p>The survey reported on Phillipian mentioned “In retrospect, our greatest disappointment is that we were unable to compare ourselves to peer boarding schools…”.</p>
<p>Wow, if Andover has 1109 students (old info, probably, from boardingschool review.com), that is 22 kids, based on the reported 2%. What a scary number. I wonder what safety nets are in place to help these kids…
zp</p>
<p>Teenage years are not easy. Compared with a similar measure for high school students in the country, which is 16.9%, that is actually a very low number.</p>
<p>One major caveat, though. These schools are selective. If the administration believes that a student may be suicidal, they may make arrangements for the student to take a leave of absence. That would make it impossible to compare public and private schools, because public schools do not have the option of sending away a troubled student.</p>
<p>From SADD, I believe that the 16.9% figure is the percentage of high school students who CONSIDERED attempting suicide. According to CDC 2007 statististics, the percentage of students who actually ATTEMPTED suicide was 6.9%. Some state-by state 2007 statistics on high school students attempting suicide are as follows: Maine 4.8%, New Hampshire 5.5%, Vermont 5.5%, Massachusetts 7.6%, Connecticut 9.8%, and Boston 10.4%.</p>
<p>Overall, the rate is significantly higher (~50% higher) for girls than for boys.</p>
<p>Someplace on SADD, I noted that suicide attempts are also significantly higher among high school students using alcohol and/or drugs. Is chemical abuse any less of a problem at the better boarding schools than at the better public schools?</p>
<p>All of these are really scary numbers. Even Andover’s 2% (~22 students) is a terribly frightening thing to ponder. I wonder how much the top boarding schools are seriously watching out for signs of clinical depression among their students? (“Seriously” being the key word there!) Does anyone here have any good insights on that?</p>
<p>After reading this thread I have several thoughts I’d like to add.</p>
<p>Drugs and alcohol exist in any high school. I would say its less prevalent in boarding school students during the school year. I think many students realize they have more to lose by going to private school and therefore keep that behavior at home. Boarding schools also attract students who aren’t interested in that scene whether it’s in high school or later in life. That’s not to say that drugs or alcohol are rare, but students think more about the risks.</p>
<p>Boarding schools are definitely aware of how its students are behaving. There are many different adults to look out for signs of depression - teachers, coaches, advisers, house counselors, etc. They all care about how a student is doing in the classroom and outside. If their behavior changes they will contact other adults who have contact with the student and have a discussion with the student to see if anything is going on. Additional steps may be taken if deemed appropriate. Boarding schools have several full time psychologists and medical doctors for any situation that arises. I found the whole community to be very caring and know that if something happened, there would be a strong support system in place.</p>
<p>It’s also important to remember that not all boarding school suicide attempts are related to the school. I’ve heard several stories that would devastate any adult, let alone a teenager.</p>
<p>That’s an interesting set of thoughts. However, I wonder if they are, in reality, hopeful thoughts rather than critical observations. I do know a fair bit about suicide, enough to know that a suicide attempt is almost always preceded by multiple signs of severe depression. 22 attempted suicides at Andover last year suggests that many teachers, coaches, advisors, counselors, etc. somehow overlooked many telltale signs of those impending suicide attempts.</p>
<p>What I can say about Exeter is that I’m constantly impressed with the amount of attention that adults pay to kids here. A number of times I’ve been involved in cases in which a student did something that could, maybe, potentially, remotely, suggest a problem, and in no time you had a flurry of e-mails and phone calls involving the kid’s adviser, teachers, coaches, Deans, and the school’s health professionals, all following up and communicating; often with the outcome that, well, there was really nothing there. </p>
<p>As an adviser, I often receive e-mails from coaches and teachers when they note anything at all suggesting a potential problem; as a teacher, I never hesitate to contact advisers of students in my class in similar situations. And I’m constantly impressed with the professionalism and dedication of our school psychologist and counselors.</p>
<p>In short, tragedies can and do happen, whether kids are in boarding school or living at home. But it seems to me that kids are watched much more carefully here than at any other school where I have taught. It’s natural for parents to feel that if THEY are not keeping an eye on their kid, then nobody is; but that does not reflect the reality of boarding schools. Conversely, most teens who commit suicide live at home; the fact that your kid lives with you does not guarantee, unfortunately, that you will be able to recognize signs of depression and prevent a tragedy.</p>
<p>Certainly drugs and alcohol exist at any school and any community. Three Andover students were expelled last fall for allegedly acquiring drugs with the intent to distribute them (not clear whether it was for profit or sharing with friends, but the impact is the same). Shortly before graduation there was a flurry of 17 disciplinary proceedings triggered by the events of a single weekend. The Phillipian didn’t report the alleged infractions, but I strongly suspect that alcohol was involved. On the whole, however, I think students at BS foresee far more serious consequences for transgressions (possible expulsion and then the hell of living with an angry Mom and Dad) than do kids living at home (just the hell of living with an angry Mom and Dad). Whether just good kids or motivated by fear of the potential impact of rule violations, most BS kids are very well behaved.</p>
<p>As for suicides, what is the definition of “an attempted suicide?” Fortunately, the data cited here implies an extraordinarily low “success” rate. That leads me to believe that most attempts are not intended so much to lead to death as a desperate cry for help. We expect the schools that we entrust our children to can read the signs both before and after such events and find the assistance they need. I believe their track record is very good, but it only takes one missed sign to lead to tragedy. If I was a BS administrator that would certainly keep me up at night.</p>
<p>First, I certainly don’t mean to demonize Andover with my repeated references to them. Indeed, it is only because Andover was recently quite open about these problems that my discussion may seem to focus on them. My inquiry and concerns, as a prospective 2010 BS parent, relate equally to all of the top boarding schools.</p>
<p>The article by Vladimirova in the Phillipian does make me sort of wonder about how truly attentive and action-oriented the schools really are with respect to some of the underlying issues. The article concludes with a quotation “When you matriculate here, you buy into the culture where the Blue Book says if you break rules, you risk your place here,” said Sykes. Yet, earlier in the article we read that
…Thirty-one percent of PA students used alcohol in April 2008…
…Eighteen percent of PA students participated in binge drinking in April 2008…
…Sixteen percent of PA students admitted to marijuana use in April 2008…
…42 percent answered that it was “easy” to acquire marijuana…</p>
<p>Alcohol and marijuana use are clearly Blue Book infractions. Does Ms. Sykes’ reference to “risking your place here” apply only to distribution and not to use? </p>
<p>I don’t meant to put too hard a point on this, but let’s not forget something: yes, these are elite, highly talented, hard working students - but they are still kids, highly impressionable kids too. Their alcohol/drug use is both illegal and injurious to their own health. As long as their chemical use is treated merely as a rite of passage (don’t see, don’t tell), it will continue and also implicitly encourage other kids to experiment with the same dangers. And those usage patterns often lead to even worse dangers too.</p>
<p>There was nothing about Mrs. Sykes statement or the facts cited that indicates Andover does not take the acquisition or consumption of banned substances very seriously. In fact, without filling in all of the details - because I don’t know them - it is my understanding that the potential recipients of the drugs also left school last fall. Whether they were asked/made to take a LOA to seek treatment (in my opinion the most likely scenario), were asked to withdraw, or were expelled, it’s clear that the school took their role in the incident and the risks to their health and well-being quite seriously.</p>
<p>Similarly, I would be surprised if most of the DCs in May weren’t for alcohol consumption. I have no idea what action was taken in those cases, but it was clear from the Phillipian article that the school was concerned and taking as proactive a position as they could. In fact, students were quoted as being upset that the school was aggressively investigating even second hand disclosure/rumor of possible rule violations.</p>
<p>As for the blind survey, I’m not sure what you expect the school to do. There are inspections but they are safety related, not “I’m going to turn your room upside down in search of contraband.” I certainly wouldn’t send my child to a school with absolutely no expectation of some privacy. The school rules require at least reasonable cause on the part of the school and that is as it should be. </p>
<p>Much of that consumption may also have occurred far from school grounds. Day students make up 25% of the school. A like number of boarders live in Eastern Mass/NH and another large contingent have authorization to visit Boston. April is also the major college visiting month for admitted seniors so that represents another likely opportunity for those inclined to drink,smoke or take drugs. Even with the strictest reasonable controls, no school will be able to avert all risky behaviors by the students.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, how do those Andover figures compare to the general population of 14-18 year olds, mostly living with their parents? My suspicion is that Andover students are less prone to such behaviors, albeit still at unacceptable levels, than the population at large.</p>
<p>In the article that nationally 45% of students used alcohol in April and 26% participated in binge drinking. 20% nationally have used marijuana. These are all higher than the Andover amounts. I assume these trends are reflected at other boarding schools as well.</p>
<p>As Padre said, Andover has a lot of day students and allows its students a good deal of freedom. I would also add that Andover is a second chance school, and doesn’t kick students out for a first offense with alcohol or marijuana.</p>
<p>Following is a link to an interesting NYT article on how one case of suicide risk was treated at Andover. The case attracted a lot of national attention because the parents were wealthy enough to challenge the school’s rather limited due process afforded students deemed “at risk”. “Better safe than sorry” may always make institutional sense but it does not always lead to fair or even common sense results. While BS faculty, administration and peers are undoubtedly on guard for at-risk student behaviors, no one is as vigilant as a parent (or two). I feel that if a child is at any real, non-speculative, risk of depression or suicide that they do not belong at BS. They should be at home with their parents.</p>
<p>Back up a minute.
Kids at PS do have the same problems as kids at PHS (boyfriend, GF, etc) and depression/suicide rates are probably very similar. The same things that exeter teacher mentioned also go on in most good HSs.</p>
<p>But, there are problems that are specific to PSs. When we interviewed, we asked specifically about the problem and got answers which were similar to that at Andover. The problems unique to PS are the lack of sleep and stress from school itself - but especially the lack of sleep which leads to poor decisions. </p>
<p>I believe it was SPS that had a consultant come in because of the problem and they changed the daily schedule to try to help it.</p>
<p>If you go back several years, you will find multiple discussions on this subject.</p>
<p>Actually, I suspect that boarding schools are more proactive on this subject than most day schools (whether public or private) and even most families. Day schools are certainly concerned about their students but they haven’t taken on responsibility for their lives on a 7x24 basis. As for parents, I hate to say it, but many are blind to the problems with their kids - either because they don’t want to believe there is a problem or because they don’t have any reference points (we’re all first time parents and haven’t seen hundreds if not thousands of kids dealing with similar issues). Out of concern for their students and potential liability, boarding schools must act out of an abundance of caution in dealing with this issue.</p>
<p>As for lack of sleep it is a problem. It’s not limited to BS as I remember my daughter also working long hours for her AP-heavy load in public school (she transferred as a junior), but it is even worse at BS - particularly during the dreaded 11th grade year. While most schools seem to have lights out or other limitations for younger students, they are often able to work around such restrictions (lights out at 11, but who is checking at 5 a.m.?). </p>
<p>I thought it was Deerfield that pushed back the start of classes to encourage more sleep but perhaps it was SPS. Anyone know for sure?</p>