District updates suicide-prevention plan; adopts standard screening tools and expands partnerships

The Communication and Policy Committee reviewed the Concord School District’s updated suicide-prevention plan at its April 9, 2025 meeting. Fern Seiden and members of the student-support team presented the revisions and described training, screening and community‑partnership changes intended to improve early identification and response.

Seiden said the plan was revised to align with the state’s suicide‑prevention law and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention framework. She told the committee the plan is organized around the ten statutory requirements that govern district plans, includes a biennial review cycle, and is intended to be both a staff reference and a family resource.

“The law really is… the New Hampshire suicide prevention plan law,” Fern Seiden said while describing the statutory foundation for the plan. Seiden said staff prioritized accessibility and clarity so the document can be used in a crisis and for prevention work.

Key updates described by Seiden include: adoption of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale for standardized risk-conversation documentation, use of a social/academic/emotional/behavioral screening tool (referred to in the presentation as the SAVERS scale) to identify early needs, and continued use of evidence‑based youth programs (NAMI Connect at the high school and the SOS program in middle-school health classes). She said the plan requires two hours of annual training for staff and that the district is emphasizing family and community training as well.

Seiden also described growing partnerships that support prevention and follow‑up care, including Riverbend, NAMI New Hampshire and Concord Hospital. She said the Columbia scale enables the district and hospital systems to “speak the same language” during referrals and emergency care, easing transitions when students require hospital evaluation.

Committee members raised safe-storage and lethal‑means counseling as a topic to ensure consistent messaging. A committee member noted that roughly 90 percent of gun deaths in New Hampshire are suicides and asked that safe-storage materials be included in parent handbooks; presenters said they would incorporate consistent lethal‑means guidance into family materials and handbooks.

Seiden and staff emphasized partnering with families when students return to school after hospitalization or emergency care, and described a brochure the district provides to families that includes safety guidance and community resources. The plan also affirms the district’s commitment to prevention work at the elementary level through social‑emotional curricula and access to school-based supports.

Ending: Committee members praised the plan’s clarity and community partnerships and asked staff to include lethal‑means materials in parent handbooks; the presentation was informational and no board vote was taken at the meeting.