Superintendent: district expanding suicide-prevention training under contract with Dr. Margaret Sidor; parent offers county-network support

Superintendent Mueller told trustees on Sept. 11 that Coronado Unified has contracted with Dr. Margaret Sidor to provide suicide-prevention and wellness support to staff and students.

Mueller said the contract includes districtwide suicide-prevention training (beyond the Joint Powers Authority'required modules) and additional initiatives tied to staff and student wellness. "One of the services within that contract was additional suicide-prevention training for our staff," Mueller said, and he noted a teen mental-health-first-aid cohort will be reported back to the board in the fall.

Public comment: Sadie (Mercedes) Smith, who said she works for the Suicide Prevention Council of San Diego and serves as Coronado Middle School PTO president, urged the district to designate a representative to the county'level K'12 subcommittee and offered to connect Dr. Sidor with the council's resources. Smith told trustees the county program provides free regional resources, data and a K'12 working group; she said she would follow up by email.

What happens next: Mueller said site-level training is underway, that Dr. Sidor had already provided training at district elementary sites and at the high school, and that the district will update the board on outcomes and the teen mental-health-first-aid cohort later in the fall. No board action was required.