Crystal Lake D47's New Suicide Prevention Program

CRYSTAL LAKE-CARY, IL - Crystal Lake Elementary District 47: Teen suicide and youth mental health are growing national concerns. In 2015, suicide was the second leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24, according to the American Association of Suicidology. An increase in the number of student mental health concerns reported over the past several years has prompted Crystal Lake Elementary District 47 to take proactive steps to address the social-emotional needs of students.

In D47 middle schools, a three-day depression awareness program called Erika’s Lighthouse was presented last year to sixth, seventh and eighth graders. This year, seventh and eighth graders will learn about depression and suicide prevention through a one-day program called SOS (Signs of Suicide).

The SOS program is being introduced, supported and funded for one year by Elyssa’s Mission, a Northbrook-based foundation that provides help, support and suicide prevention programs to public and private schools. It is the only organization in Illinois to fund, distribute and implement the SOS program. Listed on the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s national registry of evidence-based programs and practices, the SOS program has proven to reduce self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64 percent in randomized controlled studies (Aseltine et al., 2007 & Schilling et al., 2016).

The SOS program will be facilitated at all D47 middle schools the first two weeks of December by representatives from Elyssa’s Mission and District 47 staff. In addition, clinicians from Rosecrance/McHenry County Crisis Center, Samaritan Counseling Center, and Nurturing Village will also be on-site to support students’ needs. As part of the SOS program, students watch a video and participate in a group discussion. Following that, they will take a brief depression screener and have an opportunity to express concerns and ask for help.

According to Kristin Schmidt, District 47’s assistant director of special education, addressing the social-emotional needs of students is critical to creating an effective learning environment. “Screeners provide us with information about students’ needs, which helps us develop instruction and support proactively. We know that students whose social emotional needs are not taken care of are unavailable to learn within an academic setting.”

At the elementary level, District 47 kindergarten through fifth grade students are being taught social-emotional skills through a curriculum called Second Step. A social-emotional screener was also put in place this fall to help determine risk factors early on for K-5 students. In addition, the district hired a social-emotional coach this year to help support school teams across the district and lead professional development trainings for staff. A program called PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) has also been rolled out district wide over the past several years and teaches, models and reinforces positive behavior.

Besides the immediate benefit of creating more conducive learning environments, Schmidt said that teaching students social-emotional skills helps build soft skills that are important for collaboration, coping and communication -- keys to success in high school, college/careers and beyond.

Schmidt coordinates social emotional learning for District 47 and recently joined the board of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) in Crystal Lake. To tap the expertise of others and play an active role in expanding the discussion about mental health to the community, she and other D47 staff are participating this year in a countywide social-emotional roundtable, where McHenry County school social workers, psychologists, administrators and teachers meet on a regular basis to discuss and collectively address common youth mental health issues and concerns.

Photo by Jason Blackeye via Unsplash