By MELINDA WEER
Correspondent

POULSBO — The second-leading cause of death for Washingtonians age 10–24 is suicide. That’s higher than the national average. This has prompted the state Legislature to call for a task force on suicide prevention.

At the North Kitsap School Board meeting on Feb. 12, Superintendent Patty Page said the district is developing policy to respond to a new law that requires school districts to have a suicide prevention plan in place.

“Nobody is taking this lightly,” she said. “Part of our strategic plan is nurturing and providing a safe environment. [But] we are not mental health counselors; that’s not our charge … We will be at any table to help and support the program, but we can’t carry the whole load.”

Various curricula in suicide prevention are being implemented at the discretion of individual schools within NKSD. Currently, there is not a standard program being taught districtwide. Kristin Schutte of Olympic Educational Service District 114 said NKSD’s three elementary school counselors have been trained in a program called “Riding the Waves,” which can be used with fifth-grade students. The instruction focuses on strategies to prevent suicide.

The counselors at the middle schools have been trained in the “Look Listen Link” curriculum and the high school counselors in the “HELP” curriculum. According to Schutte, the goal of these programs is to reduce risk factors and increase protection factors.

Madison Roszak, a Running Start senior at NKHS, told the board she feels the resources currently available at the high school are “a good start” but are “underwhelming.” Madison’s mom, Amy, feels counselors are being held responsible for too much.

Middle school counselor Doug Segur believes the emphasis in suicide prevention should be on resilience and on training the peers of at-risk students. Most youth talk to their peers about their feelings. Schools are already good at identifying at-risk students through their peers. Segur also advises parents that it’s OK for them to check their student’s social media accounts to check for signs of suicidal ideation.

Teen Screen is a resource no longer used at NKSD; Segur believes it should be brought back into use because it was incredibly effective at identifying at- risk students.

When school board president Beth Worthington pointed out that no one in the community is leading the effort in suicide prevention, Segur replied, “You are certainly the leader in the school system. If you were providing the leadership in our school system, the community will follow.”

Helen Hoover of the League of Women Voters agrees. The league’s committee on the prevention of suicide is interested to learn what NKSD is doing and is eager to work with the district.

Look for a policy on suicide prevention from the district at the next board meeting, scheduled on Feb. 26. There are also plans to train all school staff members in grades K-12 in suicide prevention, risk and protective factors, warning signs, and how to connect students to resources.