Family of State College teen who died by suicide calls for external review of district policies

Months after the death of Park Forest Middle School student Abby Smith, her family is asking the State College Area School District to conduct an external review of how incidents involving bullying are handled.

Abby, an eighth grade Park Forest Middle School student, longtime Girl Scout and member of the school’s band, died by suicide on May 12. Following her death, rumors of bullying circulated around the district, prompting several current and former students to come forward about their own experiences with bullying at Park Forest.

Abby’s parents, Jennifer Black and Jon Smith, attended Monday night’s school board meeting, along with nearly 40 friends and community members. Friends of the family passed around a communal box of tissues as board members filed in.

Before public comment, the board waived the traditional three-minute limit for Black, allowing her to read her entire prepared statement. Speaking for 19 minutes, Black fought back tears while explaining the difficulties her family has faced in the months since Abby’s death.

“I’m not here to point fingers or sign blame to any one person or group of people in regards to Abby’s death — mental illness is to blame for my daughter’s passing,” she said.

But Black was clear in calling for an external review of the district’s procedures and practices when dealing with bullying incidents. She said an internal debrief is not enough to understand how the district’s system was unable to help Abby and how to prevent additional deaths by suicide.

“If we truly are a district who strives to make improvements and prides themselves on cutting-edge practices, we should be open to an external review aimed at improvement,” Black said. “Improvement, however, is only possible when we acknowledge that there are areas in which we can grow and change, and we also need to be willing to put forth the hard work necessary to make such a change happen.”

In a June interview, then-director of student services Jeanne Knouse denied there was a pervasive bullying issue within the school and told the CDT that the district continues to investigate any reports of bullying related to Abby .

Following Abby’s death, the district sent out an email saying the family was not aware of her being bullied and did not believe it was the reason for her death by suicide. Black said the family was misquoted and had to push for the district to issue a correction .

The miscommunication drove a wedge between Black and her oldest child in the days before Abby’s funeral and possibly discouraged students from coming forward with information about Abby, she said.

“I understand that in times of crisis, wires often get crossed and miscommunications occur,” Black said. “However, the amount of miscommunications that have occurred in the days and weeks and months following Abby’s death were not only numerous but also resulted in negative consequences.”

Following Monday night’s meeting, board members Gretchen Brandt and Peter Buck told the CDT they would support an external review if brought before the board. Brandt said she was “blown away” by Black’s bravery.

“There’s no words for what Jen and Jon are going through,” Brandt said.

Board members Aaron Miller, Jackie Huff, Amy Bader and Deborah Anderson declined to comment.

District spokesperson Chris Rosenblum told the CDT in July that the district did not plan on making any changes to bullying policies or procedures before the upcoming school year.

“We take seriously our mandate to provide a safe and positive learning environment, including schools free from bullying and cyberbullying,” Rosenblum said. “Bullying is a concern within our society, including in schools, and the district is committed to addressing it through our PBIS [Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports] programs and other efforts and remedying issues when they arise.”

In addition to calling for the external review of policies, Black urged the board to look at the lack of outpatient mental health programs for youth, explaining how one of her other children had to face the hard transition from inpatient care to returning to school. Centre County has no outpatient mental health programs and only one inpatient mental health facility.

Black also said there needs to be clearer communication between the district and parents regarding counselor meetings and student mental health crises.

“We found out only after Abby’s passing that two of Abby’s peers had attempted suicide during the school year,” Black said. “I understand that privacy is important, and it was privacy that was the reason given to us of why we were not notified. If we were able to use contact tracing to notify students who had been exposed to COVID-19 without jeopardizing privacy, we surely should be able to do something to warn parents of a mental health concern so that they can keep an eye out for signs.”

Following the meeting, the board adjourned for a 50-minute executive session. School board president Amy Bader did not announce a reason for the executive session during the meeting, but she wrote in an email that the reason will be announced at the Sept. 9 meeting. Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act allows an agency to announce the reason for an executive session either before the executive session takes place or at the next public meeting after it occurs.

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