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Father of student who died speaks to Board; district outlines suicide-prevention trainings and grants
Summary
Ron Chacon, father of a student who died by suicide, urged open conversation and described his foundation’s scholarships and family support; district staff described grant-funded prevention and training efforts across schools.
Ron Chacon, a Greeley father who lost his son to suicide, told the Weld County School District 6 Board of Education on Monday that talking openly about suicide reduces stigma and can help students get assistance.
Chacon described founding a local effort that provides scholarships to Northridge High School students and financial support to families who lose a child to suicide. He said his foundation has distributed $32,000 since 2018 for scholarships and family assistance and that the group is raising funds through a late-September motorcycle poker run. He also recounted providing a month of hotel lodging for a family after a death so they could find stable housing.
The presentation matters because it put a personal face on suicide and preceded a district briefing on prevention and intervention work funded partly by a Colorado Department of Public Health suicide-prevention grant. Tammy Bridal, director of student staff support, told the board that District 6 has prioritized aligning prevention and intervention systems and is moving to sustain grant-funded work as the current grant period winds down.
Bridal said the district recently trained two schools in Sources of Strength, a nationally recognized, strength-based suicide-prevention program that builds protective factors and empowers students as peer leaders. District 6 plans to bring Sources of Strength to 10 schools. The board heard that staff across the district are receiving QPR training (Question, Persuade, Refer) and that transportation and nutrition services staff already have been trained. Bridal said all district staff will be trained in QPR by May 2026.
For intervention capacity, Bridal said the district is training mental-health professionals in ASSIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and is implementing the PREPaRE model (National Association of School Psychologists) for crisis intervention and support. District leaders said they expect mental-health staff training to be completed by May 2026.
Board members thanked Chacon and district staff. President Natalie Mash and other directors described the topic as heavy but important; several said the presentations would prompt them to reach out to community members affected by suicide.
Chacon urged community members to “talk” and described outreach to students, counseling referrals, and scholarships as two pillars of his foundation’s work: direct financial aid and peer/family support. Bridal emphasized the district’s concrete next steps tied to the state grant and scheduled trainings.
The board did not take formal action on the presentation; it heard the report and accepted the information.
