By Kimi Danei
Executive Theme Editor
And Raven Ramsey
Theme Editor
Manhattan Beach Unified School District held a Signs Of Suicide (SOS) night via Zoom on March 12 to discuss mental health-related topics, such as suicide, with parents. In 2016, Assembly Bill 2246 was enacted to require public schools to adopt and maintain policies on suicide prevention for grades 7-12. This bill was introduced because of the rising number of suicides among teens. Costa implemented this bill in 2018 and Manhattan Beach Middle School (MBMS) followed soon after in 2019, according to MBUSD school psychologist Lynn Burrell.
“This is a very important topic that needs continued awareness,” Burrell said. “States like California have thankfully heard the concerns of various mental health experts and have taken action to help intervene with the hope of having an impact on decreasing the current statistics.” Typically at Costa and MBMS, the district designates an SOS day where homeroom teachers show a short video regarding mental health. Accompanied with this video, the district provides a questionnaire to students and promotes the resources provided on campus. Counselors check-in with a number of students to provide extra support.
“Psychologists and counselors have met with students weekly on Zoom in both individual and group formats for over one year,” Costa school psychologist Janet Allen said. “Students have reached out to request help for themselves and/or a peer at school.”
Due to online school, there has been a rise in depression and suicidal thoughts among teens. To help combat this rise, the district spoke with parents about ways of detecting suicide and aiding their teens. The discussion was directed toward parents as there were concerns over the safety of students because of the lack of access to campus resources during online school. “There was a lot of discussion on the best way to hold the Signs of Suicide program this year with campuses closed,” Burrell said. “[Our hope is] that parents gain more confidence and comfort in their ability to have these discussions with their children.”
The event included counselors from Costa and MBMS, such as Teby Wammack, Burrell and Jeff Amaral. Burrell began the discussion by presenting background information and tips for parents concerned about their students’ well-being. The meeting also allowed parents to provide suggestions and ask questions.
“Being disconnected from peers and typical routines has been very challenging,” Amaral said. “This year, in distance learning, we felt it was important to help parents with some tips of helping look for signs of depression and suicide.”
Leave a Reply