Guest Editorial by Dr. Amy Grosso, Director, Resident Expert at Raptor Technologies

Young children and teens are navigating an increasingly complex and demanding world run by social media. They’re also experiencing a rise in school violence, a combination that takes a significant toll on their mental health.

Unfortunately, mental health in America has long been overshadowed by stigmas that further perpetuate stereotypes like the person being unpredictable or prone to erratic behavior. This causes the person dealing with mental health issues to feel embarrassed, helpless, or scared to ask for help. In turn, it exacerbates their symptoms, sometimes resulting in a crisis or even suicide.

This is why it’s so important for schools to be equipped with mental health initiatives and a toolkit of resources to nurture each student’s academic growth and emotional resilience.

More than 700,000 people succumb to suicide each year, making it a global epidemic that nobody is immune to. This includes our most sensitive populations, like young children, who are deeply affected by suicide and face unique challenges and stressors that can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and despair.

According to the CDC, suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death for students aged 10-14 and the third for students aged 15-19 in the United States, with rates steadily rising for over a decade.

Students, in particular, remain a top vulnerable population due to increase in stress levels which can impact mental health concerns like depression and anxiety, use of drugs or alcohol, and future uncertainties.

Knowing this, schools have a unique role in identifying and supporting at-risk students before they become a risk to themselves and others.

(Troubling new data from the CDC shows that the number of deaths by suicide among adolescents and young adults is on the rise. According to the report, suicide rates for people ages 10 to 24 rose 60% since 2011. Ken Zimmerman and Arvind Sooknanan from Fountain House, a national mental health nonprofit, recently joined CBS News to talk about the study. Courtesy of CBS News and YouTube.)

Many students are still adapting to life after the pandemic, a time that significantly derailed learning and socio-emotional development. They also live in a time of increased school violence and anxiety around attending classes.

According to a survey conducted in May 2022, 60% of public schools reported increased classroom disruptions prompted by student misconduct, and 20% of student respondents graded their schools with a D or F regarding mental health support.

That’s why it’s critical to delve into the importance of recognizing students’ behaviors and the role of reporting technology in advocating for mental health intervention.

Recognizing Early Warning Signs

Detecting early warning signs and implementing effective intervention strategies is crucial in saving lives, but identifying students in crisis can be challenging. Risk factors and warning signs frequently manifest under various circumstances depending on the student and their situation.

For example, elementary school children might exhibit low-level behaviors like stomach aches and headaches or regression behaviors like throwing temper tantrums. Meanwhile, a student in middle school may show -signs of irritability, sudden shifts in academic performance, or social isolation by withdrawing from friends and disinterest in previously enjoyed activities.

Wraparound services must be deployed to provide valuable support to at-risk students. This may include enlisting the help of the student’s family and offering counseling and crisis outreach.

(Higher education is facing a mental health crisis. Yale settled a lawsuit following the death of a student by suicide in 2021 and will allow students flexibility to take lighter course loads and keep their healthcare while on medical leave. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Dr. Jessi Gold for our reporting on Early Warnings: America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis and our series, Rethinking College. Courtesy of PBS News and YouTube.)

There are a few tips and tools for educators to help recognize early warning signs and facilitate productive conversations about mental health with students:

Normalize Mental Health Conversations:

• Part of reducing the stigma around mental health is to provide students with opportunities to be open and honest about how they’re feeling.

• This might include staff training on mental health so educators can better use stigma-reducing language and recognize when a student might be struggling.

Post Signage on Campus:

• With the support of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, schools can place posters around campus with information on 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

• When strategically displayed throughout the school, these posters serve as a means for students to learn about this vital resource and witness the campus’s commitment to their well-being and mental health.

• Simply knowing that someone cares can make a huge difference.

Provide Parents/Families with Resources:

• When a student grapples with mental health challenges, families often find themselves uncertain about where to seek information. Therefore, it’s crucial to equip families with access to local resources that provide mental health education and online support groups.

• Some valuable groups and websites include the CDC’s Children’s Mental Health, The Child Mind Institute’s Complete Guide to Getting Good Care, The National Alliance on Mental Illness, and The National Institute of Mental Health’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

(School counselors are a crucial resource for students, but their services are not accessible for all youth. We are not giving students the language they need to talk about their own mental health, which is keeping them from getting support until they are in crisis. By integrating conversation around mental health into core school curriculum, schools will give their students the tools they need for self-advocacy and a healthier lifestyle. “Maya Dawson is a junior at Conifer High School. She fell in love with storytelling from stories around the dinner table growing up, and now shares her own stories and those of her peers through her school’s student paper. She has worked as a Global Youth Reporter with the Team Harmony Foundation and has been published in several papers. Her work focuses on social justice and the challenges faced by today’s youth. She hopes to pursue political science or journalism in college- whatever will best let her share the stories of those who are not being heard. When not writing, she runs, plays basketball, and cares for her pet Axolotl (Look up photos… they are fantastic creatures). ” This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Courtesy of TEDx Talks and YouTube.)

When families have access to these vital resources and evidence-based information, they can actively support their children’s mental well-being. This collaboration with educational and mental health professionals ultimately improves student outcomes.

While identifying warning signs is a significant initial step in suicide and school violence prevention, it isn’t just crisis work – small, everyday actions can make a substantial difference.

Acknowledging and documenting early warning signs is the first step in creating or building on a student’s chronology, so any previous concerns and interventions will be in one student repository for other key staff and faculty to reference. Reporting technology can assist schools more quickly in advocating for mental health intervention through a holistic view of each student.

Tapping Into Reporting Technology

One of the most powerful tools in suicide prevention and violence within schools is reporting technology. It enables schools to recognize, document, support, and manage the well-being of individual students through a secure and intuitive platform.

It offers opportunities for early intervention and vital data collection, enabling schools to identify broader issues and implement targeted prevention programs.

Every touchpoint, including bus drivers, teachers, and coaches, can leverage this technology to report changes in student behavior so select staff like school counselors and administrators can connect the dots in assessing a student’s potential for harming themselves or others.

(Learn about Raptor StudentSafe, which brings together the systems that help schools recognize, document, support, and manage the well-being of individual students. The intuitive and robust platform can capture low-level concerns, conduct behavioral threat assessments and suicide risk assessments, and manage such cases, ensuring positive student outcomes. Courtesy of Raptor Technologies and YouTube.)

School staff are empowered with real-time visibility of each student to identify trends, resource gaps, and areas of vulnerability. Additionally, select staff can easily catalog observations through a secure, central repository, giving more points of information, including early identifiers of trouble. A secure system with proven strategies reduces risks and liabilities and readily shares data with approved team members.

Through this heightened awareness and repository of student behavioral trends, school staff and administrators can begin taking steps to improve student outcomes, including intervening before a student becomes a risk to themselves or others.

Even with early interventions, some students might end up at a crisis level. At these times, trained school personnel can utilize suicide screenings or behavioral threat assessments (BTAs) guided by reporting technology.

Although most students who struggle with mental health concerns and suicidal thoughts will not be violent towards others, it is imperative schools respond to warning signs that a student might be a threat to others.

Behavioral Threat Assessment Methodologies

BTAs ensure students receive the support and intervention they need by identifying and preventing violent school incidents. However, many schools grapple with maintaining consistency and accuracy in these assessments due to an over-reliance on paper-based models and antiquated systems prone to errors.

In addition, inconsistent threat assessment practices might overlook critical warning signs of distressed students and pose security risks when dealing with sensitive student data. This is where comprehensive technology comes back into the mix.

A standardized protocol offered by a digital platform helps remove the administrative burdens associated with BTAs by providing a student’s complete chronology in one place to show past concerns and interventions.

It guarantees that every student receives the same level of attention and care. With technological tools and access to an advanced BTA workflow, schools are equipped to manage the well-being of every student.

Additionally, integrated platforms support schools’ threat assessment processes by protecting student data, helping capture low-level concerns – allowing for early documentation and tracking of student behavior, facilitating quick identification of patterns, and streamlining collaboration between school counselors, administrators, and other staff.

Future-Proofing Mental Health Support

Suicide and school violence prevention is a collective responsibility, and reporting technology is vital in advocating for mental health intervention. Schools and communities must prioritize mental health education, destigmatize seeking help, and make resources readily available.

Through technology-driven reporting systems, early intervention becomes possible, ultimately saving lives and promoting a culture of support and compassion. By leveraging reporting technology and fostering open conversations, we can create a safer and more supportive student environment.

It’s time to break the stigma, stand together, and advocate for mental health intervention to prevent the tragic loss of young lives.

About the Author

Dr. Amy Grosso is a highly accomplished professional with a Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, more than 15 years of experience, and a passion for student wellbeing.

At Round Rock ISD, she led the creation of the Behavioral Health Services Department, overseeing a team of social workers providing vital support to students and families. Dr. Grosso pioneered the threat assessment process, creating a safe environment for over 46,000 students. She also updated suicide protocols district-wide, implementing evidence-based practices. Driven to enhance student support, she was crucial in establishing the Round Rock ISD Police Department, fostering collaboration between social workers and officers.

Nationally, Dr. Grosso serves on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s National Chapter Leadership Council, contributing to suicide prevention efforts.

She co-authors the book “Schoolwide Collaboration for Transformative Social Emotional Learning.” Dr. Grosso speaks at state and national conferences and hosts the podcast “School Safety Today with Dr. Amy.”

 

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Integra Services Takes Best Preventative School Security Solution in 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards

American Security Today’s Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards, the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program, now entering its Ninth Year, recognizes industry leaders of Physical and Border Security, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness – Management and Response, Law Enforcement, First Responders as well as federal, state and municipal government agencies in the acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to Keep our Nation Secure.

 

INTEGRA Services (First of Two)

Best Student Threat Assessment Training Solution, and…

• Integra Services Student Threat Assessment Process

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(Hear from John Spalthoff about the success his Spring Lake Heights High School staff had with the Threat Vulnerability & Risk Assessment (TVRA) performed by Integra Services. Courtesy of Integra Services and YouTube.)

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INTEGRA Services (Second of Two)

Best Preventative School Security Solution

• Integra Services Student Threat Assessment Process

• A critical need for school safety today is to empower school personnel, SROs, and security personnel to recognize the signs of potential violence exhibited by a student so they can intervene before the violence erupts. This process can save lives.

• Integra Services, formerly True Security Design, has been Recognized for Multiple ‘ASTORS’ Public Safety for its various threat assessment processes and staff training programs for healthcare, corporate, educational, and government facilities.

(Integra Services’ School Training teaches today’s modern professionals vital skills through courses designed to engage and empower its participants. The goal is to transform security training from the tiresome requirement it has too often become into engaging and productive learning through interactive sessions and real-life role-playing exercises. Courtesy of Integra Services and YouTube.)

• Integra Services Student-Based Threat Assessment Training helps school personnel develop an in-school team that can respond to any threat, analyze the suspected threat, identify a potentially dangerous person, and take action before an attack occurs.

• The Student-Based Threat Assessment Program from Integra Services (formerly True Security Design) is the next step in training to ensure the various components of our nation’s educational personnel are equipped to do everything possible to prevent violence before it happens and not just respond to it afterward. 

• Integra Services is a proud New York State-certified women-owned business (WBE) offering quality end-to-end infrastructure, cabling, and security consulting services.

• *** Integra Services (formerly True Security Design) has been recognized as an ‘ASTORS Award Champion for its Fifth Year. 

 

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(See a few highlights during the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security and Government Excellence Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon in NYC during ISC East on November 16, 2023. Courtesy of AST, My Pristine Images, and Vimeo.)

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