Madison Consolidated School district staff recognizes that depression and self-destruction are problems of increasing severity among children and adolescents. A student who suffers the psychological disability of depression cannot benefit fully from the educational program of the schools, and a student who has attempted self-destruction poses a danger both to himself/herself and to other students.
All school personnel should be alert to the student who exhibits signs of unusual depression or who threatens or attempts suicide. Any such signs or the report of such signs from another student or staff member should be taken with the utmost seriousness. Members of the professional staff understand how to use an intervention procedure which includes stabilization, assessment of risk, use of appropriate risk procedure, communication with appropriate parties, and follow-up. Throughout any intervention, it is essential that confidentiality is observed at all times.
Parent Communication Shared on May 10, 2017
"13 Reasons Why"Hello...
Our counseling team wanted to reach out to all families within our district to provide you with information on a situation we have become aware of and understand to be a topic of interest or curiosity with certain age groups and possibly among our student body.
Recently Netflix has begun to air an original series based on the book 13 Reasons Why. This show chronicles the suicide of a young woman who leaves behind thirteen tape recordings for specific individuals in her life explaining the reasons they were to blame for her death.
Given the nature of the content and recent experience with some of our student body regarding suicide and young adults, we wanted to reach out and provide your family with information as a way to:
- bring awareness to the television series/book, if you are not familiar with the title,
- provide resources and discussion guiding materials you can use with your student, or share with someone who may benefit,
- and assure you there are trained, concerned professionals available to your student should they wish to talk with someone while at school.
Sharing this information with you is important to us as we hope to help open lines of healthy communication for your student both at home and while at school. We highly encourage you to read the detailed letter attached from our counseling team on how to begin discussions with your student and have also included a list of links listed below as quick reference guides.
**NEW**
Information on "13 Reasons Why", Season 2 MCS Counseling Team Letter to Families
