During my sophomore year of high school in Greenville County, one of my friends committed suicide. He was a beautiful soul who brought light to everyone around him, yet none of us were aware of his battles. His death was one of at least two suicides that occurred in my school community within four years. That is two too many. Greenville’s K-12 schools need to implement intensive, schoolwide trainings like Mental Health First Aid.
Between March 2020 and May 2021, eight Greenville County Schools students committed suicide. This marks a sharp increase in GCS student suicides: between 2009 and 2020, 19 students committed suicide. All suicides are heartbreaking, and this recent increase is devastating.
However, public schools’ mental health services present an opportunity. They are accessible to children across all demographics, especially those that care often fails to reach. Boys are more likely to use in-school mental health resources than girls, and African American and Hispanic youth are more likely to use in-school services than outpatient services.
K-12 schools are ideally situated to help children battling mental illness. To this end, Greenville County Schools must require intensive mental health trainings. These are low-cost activities that only take one school day to administer. A student’s wellbeing is certainly worth one day. GCS shows informative videos to high school students, but these showings are irregular, and students often do not pay attention. More intensive, regular training is necessary.
Several options exist. One schoolwide option is the Upstate Child Protection Training Center’s strategies, which emphasize relationship-building and counteraction of traumatic experiences. Teen Mental Health First Aid is a student-specific option that teaches youth to “identify, understand and respond to … mental health challenges.” Faculty and staff can participate in Youth Mental Health First Aid, MHFA’s adult-specific option, or trainings from the National Alliance on Mental Illness explaining the “symptoms of mental health conditions.”
School district leadership is responsible for enacting this mandate. Superintendents such as Burke Royster must lead the charge in introducing this requirement. Individual schools are responsible for implementation. Faculty must support and participate in these trainings, to provide the best experience for their students.
No one should battle mental illness alone. K-12 schools must take advantage of their prime position and administer trainings to build a more supportive community for youth.
Laurel Holley is a proud Greenville County Schools alumna and Duke University student.
