Boise School District introduces new initiatives to prevent suicide

The Boise School District is making it their duty to prioritize student mental health.

I'm your neighborhood reporter Jessica Davis, and after several deaths last school year the district is introducing new initiatives to prevent student suicide.

• Boise School District is implementing S.O.S. curriculum focused on suicide prevention for 7th-12th graders
• S.O.S stands for Signs of Suicide, during Suicide Prevention Week students will learn about mental health and how to best prevent suicide through the S.O.S cirriculum.
• The district is also implementing a new class. "Hope Squad" is class for peer-to-peer mental health assistance for junior and highschools

(Below is a transcript of the broadcast story.)

"We're implementing two new things this year," says Jason Shanks, counseling supervisor for the Boise School District.

During suicide prevention week, which starts September 9, the Boise school district will introduce S.O.S, short for Signs of Suicide, to all 7th through 12th graders. It's an intervention curriculum focused on suicide prevention.

Shanks says, "really making sure students know what to do if someone is talking to them who to go to, and how to get that student help."

Four Boise students and one staff member died by suicide during the 2023 - 2024 school year alone, impacting students across the district.

Emerson Shirey is a junior at Boise High School. She says "Boise High has lost some students to suicide in the past few years, so it really is something very important to our school. Seeing that as a student and having friends who lost so many people and stuff, it's important to me and I think it's really good to address it now."

Along with the added curriculum, the district also created a class called "hope squad" at each middle and high school where the focus is peer to peer mental health assistance.

"They will meet every day., they will have dedicated time towards campaigns, they'll have dedicated times towards curriculum and really supporting bodies of those 7th through 12th grades," says Shanks.

According to the CDC, in 2022 suicide was the 9th leading cause of death in Idaho and with 5 death in just one year at one district, Boise leaders are hoping the conversations in class can save lives.

"Our number one hope is to not lose any more students," says Shanks.

Dash Istafanous is a senior at Boise High, he says, "I think that's why a student led organization can be really effective if we as student athletes at Boise High can start making it a trend where students speak out to each other. It'll open up those opportunities even more that the adults provide us."

Jason Shanks adds, "We just want more literacy around mental health for students and for staff. We want students to be able to recognize signs and be able to act on them."