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Adams 12 presents expanded suicide-prevention and threat-assessment response as district reports more screenings
Summary
District staff told the Adams 12 school board that suicide risk assessments and threat-reporting have risen since the pandemic, outlined prevention programs and partnerships, and proposed expanded training, a student mental-health advisory and additional community therapy supports.
Adams 12 Five Star Schools administrators told the school board on May 7 that the district is seeing more suicide risk assessments and threat reports and outlined new steps to expand prevention, intervention and postvention services.
The district reported 1,007 suicide risk assessments (SRAs) handled by school-based mental-health staff during the most recent reporting period and described year-over-year increases in threat-assessment activity. "When individuals are connected to help, their chances of recovery increase significantly," said Sarah Hunter, prevention and crisis recovery coordinator, as she walked the board through district data and the suicide-prevention framework.
The update emphasized that screening has risen partly because staff received districtwide gatekeeper training and because a new reporting platform, Raptor Student Safe, has made it easier for schools to log concerns. Olivia, the district’s behavioral threat-assessment coordinator, said the district treats a "concerning behavior as an opportunity for connection and support," and that screens are a triage step that may lead to fuller assessments when warranted.
Nut graf: The briefing matters because board members must weigh ongoing investments in mental-health staffing, training and community partnerships while the district manages limited state and local funds. Officials said the increase in recorded assessments does not necessarily reflect a rise in violent behavior but may indicate improved reporting and earlier intervention.
District staff described how needs differ by grade level. Middle schools show the highest number of referrals for assessment, officials said, while elementary schools show the most screenings (often for younger children learning emotional regulation). High schools show the highest number of full assessments and the most cases requiring intensive intervention, the presentation said.
The board heard about programs used across grade levels: Sources of Strength (a peer-led prevention program), the fifth-grade "Riding the Waves" curriculum, social-emotional instruction tied to districtwide Panorama and Healthy Kids surveys, and Safe2Tell follow-up procedures. Erin Fobart, deputy superintendent, and others described a combination of upstream prevention, in-school intervention and postvention supports.
Staff described several new or expanded steps for 2025–26: forming a student mental-health advisory with high-school representatives; a Regis University grant to place 10 therapists doing play therapy in elementary schools next year; increased threat-assessment training for school teams; expanded collaboration with county behavioral-health partners; and an effort to align protocols for charter schools. Olivia said the district is moving to a more consistent, multidisciplinary threat-assessment model and has prioritized relationship-building with schools to increase reporting and earlier intervention.
Security and safety leaders also discussed operational changes. Anthony Muck, director of safety and security, described quarterly tabletop exercises with cabinet and school teams, plans to update school emergency operations plans, additional reunification training for building teams and expanded training for campus security officers (including crisis intervention and de-escalation). Officials said the superintendent’s crisis-response group now runs after-action reviews to identify lessons and needed changes.
Board members pressed for more comparative data and asked staff to return with loss and attempt figures to compare to state trends. Superintendent Godowsky and staff said some suicides show no prior warnings; they cautioned that static counts can mask the effect of earlier intervention that likely prevented additional harm. "There is always room to get better," staff said, and they listed implementation priorities for next year: tiered training, supporting students with chronic suicidality, student advisory input, and deepening community partnerships.
Ending: Board members thanked staff for the briefing and for the work of the district’s crisis and prevention teams. Administrators said they will return with additional trend data and a progress update on the actions described for the 2025–26 school year.
