Trigger Warning: The following content discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support 24/7.
Over nine percent of middle schoolers in the United States have attempted suicide at some point, according to a Youth Health Survey conducted in 2019. The numbers continued to rise during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. As the topic can be difficult to discuss, it is not heavily emphasized in Boynton and Dewitt Middle School health curricula. This means that topics like proper language usage surrounding suicide remain unaddressed, and safe spaces for students to discuss mental illness are unprovided. Therefore, The Tattler Editorial Board believes that ICSD must make resources more easily available for middle school students and strengthen middle school mental health curricula.
Raising awareness is crucial in fostering a safe environment for middle schoolers in which their feelings don’t feel shrouded or isolated. At this critical developmental stage, as students are beginning to navigate early adolescence, experiences grow much more emotionally complex. Mental health concerns can often go unnoticed at a time when kids don’t know how to best articulate the changes and challenges they’re experiencing.
It is important to first note that suicidal ideation, while mature in theme, is not uncommon in younger generations. ICSD has seen reports of suicidal thoughts and even suicide attempts. Students having suicidal thoughts may find themselves scared, alone, and unsure of what to do if they’ve never heard the topic properly addressed in class. This raises a difficult question: when is the right time to teach kids about this tricky subject, and how much should one teach? It’s important that students know how to approach their own mental health and how to healthily support friends who are having suicidal thoughts.
Tsedale Forbes, a former Boynton health teacher, thinks the strongest way to approach this is to teach the content as thoroughly but as fast-paced as possible. Enactment of this concept would look like a couple of days in class thoroughly addressing misconceptions and answering students’ questions, instead of spreading the content over a couple of weeks. This allows students to learn the difficult content in depth without spending too much time on it, and allows students to step out of the classroom if need be without missing too much class time. However, this isn’t exactly outlined on ICSD health curricula–it’s something that Forbes and their predecessor, Angela Knight, had to figure out for themselves.
In addition, Forbes adds that the current ICSD health curriculum as outlined by New York State uses outdated language and reinforces some misconceptions about suicide and mental health. Students should step away, for example, from making generalizations about how mental illnesses affect the lives of those who have them, a notion not covered in NYS curricula, and the state does little to correct the idea that all people who commit suicide have depression. Therefore, The Tattler believes that our school district should rework its middle school mental health curriculum to be more thorough, up to date, and considerate of what knowledge middle school students might apply to their lives. Updated information could cover anything from how to prevent suicide in immediate crisis situations to simply how to check in with a friend in a way that makes all parties feel safe and supported.
Furthermore, though ICSD has mental health resources, it fails to promote them to students. Many students may be unaware of the services their school’s psychologist or the district can offer them. Students may also be unaware that the Drop-In Center at the high school has been shut down, further limiting the resources for students to seek mental health support. Students in crisis at any school may still ask to go see their counselor if they’re having suicidal thoughts, a panic attack, or other difficulties. Additionally, the signs that encouraged students to stop in at the high school Drop-In Center could be repurposed and sent to middle schools as a simple graphic to let students know what their options are. Furthermore, the high school has posters that name guidance counselors, social workers, and the psychologist. Those could have a paragraph added under each job position describing the roles that each staff member plays.
However, students might not recognize themselves as being in crisis or having mental health issues. Even if signs are posted with information on resources, a student might not recognize that they’re in need of those resources until it’s too late. This issue could be fixed with more individualized messages to students. For example, the middle schools could send out an anonymous form a few times a year, similar to ones seen in doctor’s offices, asking a student to rate how often they have particular experiences. Based on the way the student responds, the form might tell them to see a counselor or get immediate help. This would let the student recognize that the way they’ve been feeling isn’t necessarily normal or okay, and that there are resources which would help them feel better.
Verbal and physical abuse in middle schools is still fairly common and often untreated. The CLYDE Survey provides statistics showing that bullying is the most prevalent in grades seven and eight in ICSD. Harsh punishments are placed on bullies, which makes people hesitant to report those harming them, as they worry that problems won’t be fixed and the situation will only escalate. Furthermore, some students may not even be aware that they are being bullied if they have preconceived notions of what it looks like.
Considering that both bullies and those being bullied are at higher risk of attempted suicide, the issue becomes finding a way to prevent bullying without sacrificing the well-being of either party. Conflict resolution should not be approached entirely from the stance of punishment, nor should it cater entirely to the aggressor. Instead, effective bullying prevention lies in working out underlying causes of bullying with students while making it clear that cruel or aggressive behavior isn’t acceptable, and simultaneously working with victims to make sure they feel safe following conflict. At the Ithaca middle schools, this could take the form of stronger education on what bullying looks like and how to respond to it, as well as mediated conversation between bullies, victims, and staff members.
While confidentiality around suicide ideation and attempts in ICSD is essential to protect student privacy, it can contribute to a lack of awareness about how widespread the issue truly is. To bridge this gap between privacy and awareness, meaningful reform must start with a more comprehensive and current health curriculum, more visible and accessible resources for those at high risk of suicidal ideation, including those victim to or perpetrators of bullying. Only then can we begin to foster a school environment where every student feels seen, safe, and supported.
It’s encouraging to see attention being given to middle school mental health, especially since early intervention can make such a difference. I’d be curious to know how students themselves are being included in shaping these support systems.
Focusing on suicide prevention in middle schools is such an important step—this age group often slips through the cracks in mental health conversations. I’d love to see students themselves involved in shaping these resources, since peer input can make programs more relatable and effective.