Suicide Prevention: Caring For Our Young People

We see the never-ending reporting about school shootings. They occur in places we may have visited. We may even have friends and relatives whose lives have been impacted by this violence that seems endemic in our society. But that could never happen in our children's school, or could it?

Safety is at the top of the list of concerns for parents and students. Harassment, bullying, and COVID are all still concerns, but shootings have unnerved people in every age group and walk of life. It seems as though no public place is safe anymore.

Preparing for emergencies is an ongoing process—even if a school (public or nonpublic) is at a high state of readiness for an emergency, there will still be a need for continued security, safety, and emergency management. Source: REMSTA (Readiness & Emergency Management for Schools)

Prevention

Preventing incidents from happening requires action from you and your children's school. You are partners in keeping young people safe.

The Parent's Obligation

• Understand the measures your school has put in place to prevent incidents from occurring.
• Discuss these measures regularly with your children.
• Teach your children to be situationally aware.
• Keep your lines of communication open and relaxed, so your children will tell you about anything and everything.
• Keep your phone charged with the school's emergency alert application configured to notify you anytime.
• Monitor your local weather conditions as emergencies can include severe storms, tornadoes, and flash floods.
• Teach your children how to call 911 for help.
• Teach your children how

One of our parental prerogatives is to worry about our children. That's because your child never came with an instruction manual. As a result, you have had to learn so many things about parenting simply by being a parent. No matter, worry is part of the parental landscape. If you are considering sending your child off to a private school, your worries will be pretty specific. Probably along the lines of the following questions.

Many parents find the concept of sending a child to boarding school upsetting; a child's adolescence is such a distinctively affective period that entrusting it to others seems wrong. Yet boarding schools prosper, successors to institutions dating to medieval times. Source: Forbes.com

Will my child be safe?

Private schools take your child's safety very seriously. Contractually a boarding school functions in loco parentis, which is a legal way of stating that the school acts in the place of the parent when it comes to supervision of its students, your child included.

Here is an overview of Westchester Country Day School, High Point, North Carolina.

In many respects, your child is safer at school, where she cannot drive or go to somebody's house and get into who-knows-what after school while you are at work. Private schools do not permit drugs, drinking, and smoking. Zero tolerance is the rule. Does it prevent teens from pushing the limits and experimenting? That's

In this imaginary conversation based on actual questions I have answered over the years, a parent who is thinking about sending her four-year-old to a private school asks me various questions.

Why would I want to send my child to a private school?

We had several requirements when looking at private schools for our daughters. Small class size was a major requirement. The other was academic content. Our eldest daughter was one of the first students in a newly-opened parochial school. Her class had 12 students, which afforded her plenty of individual attention. The entire school population was less than 100 students.

We also were concerned about what she would be taught. She read above her grade level, enjoyed reading, and drawing. There were no video games, tablets, or cellphones to distract her in those days. Her teachers never held her back academically or intellectually. On the contrary, they built a strong foundation that strengthened learning in the primary grades.

What grade? Primary? High school?

Our daughters went to PK private schools. It was a happy experience for them and us because the schools were small and well-run. Then both girls had a few years in public schools in rural Northwestern Connecticut. We quickly discovered that those schools had terrific, experienced teachers with limited academic curricula. Consequently, we decided to send both girls off to boarding school. Their age difference of five years afforded us some relief from paying two tuition bills. And we weren't constantly driving them

Spring is an exciting time both for private schools and for their new incoming students. Now, I know you're thinking, "Why spring? I thought schools opened in the fall? In September." Well, of course, you're right. Schools do welcome their new students at the beginning of the fall semester. But they also make a big fuss about their new students in the spring. After all, why talk about success once when you can talk about it all year long. It's just good marketing. Private schools are constantly looking to fill their empty seats. While certain times of the year are busier than others in the admissions department, the director of admissions has to focus on her school's finding new students throughout the year. Welcoming new students is an essential part of her job.

This video shares some tips on creating social media content.

Why is welcoming students so important?

Welcoming new students is important because it makes new students and their families feel that they are part of the school community from Day 1. Most new students will be concerned about basics like making friends and fitting in. Most parents want assurance that their children have everything they need to be happy and successful in their new school. The welcoming process sets the tone. It states unequivocally that "We are so happy you are here. We are so happy that you are part of our