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Albany County trustees hear J Boots suicide-awareness update; presenters ask district support and grant pursuit
Summary
Presenters described expansion of the J Boots suicide-awareness effort across Albany County schools, noting the program distributed 256 pairs of boots this year and asking the board to consider financial and grant support (presenters suggested roughly $60,000 as one target).
Superintendent Dr. Goldart introduced a report on J Boots, a school-centered suicide-awareness and prevention program that district presenters said has expanded across Albany County and into regional partner schools.
Terry Moss, who led the presentation, said the program has grown rapidly: “we were able to give out 256 pairs of boots to students and a total of 256 boots this year,” and noted fundraising needs have risen — from about $60,000 the first year to roughly $90,000 last year. He asked the board to consider district support and to pursue grant dollars so the program is not always catching up on annual fundraising.
Principals and Hope Squad advisers described classroom- and school-level activities tied to the initiative. Aaron Lozano, a Hope Squad adviser, said one regular practice called a “boot check” encourages students and staff to check in on one another: “a boot check is where you take time to just get in touch with somebody that you haven't talked to in a while.” Student members of Hope Squad told the board the program made it easier to start conversations about mental health.
Volunteer coordinator Isaac Moss said volunteers and staff reported students and colleagues were opening up as a result of the outreach and that the program also supplies resource contact information for students and families.
Presenters tied the program to local need: Terry Moss said the community recently lost several people to suicide and underscored the program’s preventive role, and he asked trustees to consider providing up-front funding through state grant channels or district resources to stabilize operations. Moss said he had reached out about the possibility of securing approximately $60,000 to help the program “get a year ahead” of fundraising.
Trustees thanked presenters and asked follow-up questions about fundraising, volunteer management and whether the program could be hosted in school settings as a regional hub. The board did not take formal action on funding at the meeting but asked staff to continue conversations and plan for future updates.
The board heard the presentation as part of its superintendent report and recognized Hope Squad students and advisers from multiple schools for their participation; Dr. Goldart said the district would provide an update next year.
The program is run in partnership with the Jay Foundation and local volunteers; presenters named multiple local donors and organizations that contributed to the most recent effort.
