This is terrible to hear. And to hear potentially multiple attempts at another school. I will say that’s been the biggest disappointment with my children’s schoos—lack of adult interaction/one on one check ins from advisors, dorm parents, etc. And does anyone have experience to know if there is concern about a student’s mental health how that is handled? I know it would vary by school but when you hear things like this you worry as a parent.
Same situation here. Assume dorm parents and advisor spend more time but I cannot count on them. Eventually it’s parents responsibility. I usually try to spend enough time talking or texting my DS at least once a day, but schedule is so tight, hardly able to find time., esp. after recent suicidal attempt happen.
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I work at a boarding school. When there is concern about a student’s mental health, it is addressed in multiple ways–it may simply warrant a check-in from an advisor/dorm parent/other trusted adult, or the concern may be discussed amongst a specialized committee of administrators/health services personnel to develop a more robust plan of action. Sometimes it warrants finding the student and escorting them directly to counseling staff. No school is perfect, but I do think our community does a good job of identifying students who need extra support.
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@Tana98 , this is my sense of the school DS attended as well. A friend whose child was a day student was contacted by the advisor with concerns, and the parents (who are lovely people and attentive parents) were rather surprised by the concerns raised. The student did get professional help and to this day is grateful for the intervention.
Issues can be difficult to spot even by parents. People are good at hiding what they don’t want seen.
The BS teachers and staff I know are quite devoted to the students, and I think that as people who are around this cohort all the time, generally attuned to them. Not all teachers, not all schools. But overall, quite caring.
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Our experience in this regard with Choate has been excellent.
There was a suicide at our middle school during Covid. Very small program and the kids all knew each other well. The kid left a zoom call and was just… gone. Parents wouldn’t allow it to be discussed in anything but the vaguest of terms and there was no funeral. 45 minutes of counseling and a 100 page paper due in one week. As the post Covid mental health engulfed so many kids, I know three different teens from this class who affirmatively reached out for help when they were in a crisis. Not a single one their parents had a clue.
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Is your middle school also a boarding school?
I am sorry hearing that.
For handling these issues I give PA credit— they had the survey disclosing about 2% suicidal attempt. As parents I would rather the school face the challenges openly than hiding 
it. Our kid’s school had one serious suicidal attempt last month. At parents side, we had received one email saying that was taken care of, like we were told “ oh we had a game last night”. Considering being a second case of suicidal attempt within 12 months.
Hope the school does not feel it is shame.
No. This was the prior year. But the suicide definitely influenced the class in a profound manner.
4 posts were merged into an existing topic: Boarding school suicides? Read there was 1 in NYC