Superintendent asks board to approve three-month bridge to join JED Foundation suicide-prevention cohort

Dr. Miller described the district's expanding mental-health work and asked the board to consider a three-month bridge (June through August) so the district can onboard into a no-cost three-year cohort with the JED Foundation.

"Every student deserves a trusted adult," Dr. Miller told the board, summarizing the rationale for a coordinated approach to prevention, triage and training.

She reviewed steps the district has taken since October, including creation of a 25-member behavioral health advisory council and placement of a full-time school-based therapist in each building. Dr. Miller said the district administered a nationally normed HAS student survey (week of May 18), a parent/caregiver survey that had 573 responses to date, an educator survey with 195 responses and a support-staff survey with 74 responses; she described the data as one input for planning.

Dr. Miller said roughly 63 students were identified this year at the highest-intensity support level (tier 3), which she noted equates to about 6% and exceeds the district's target of below 5% for that tier. She described a proposal for an administrator-level coordinator of integrated student support to manage complex cases and streamline responses across buildings.

She explained the JED Foundation relationship: while a typical technical-assistance relationship could cost about $33,000 per year, the district has been offered a three-year cohort scholarship valued at roughly $100,000; the bridge would provide planning, data analysis and training before the cohort formally begins in September. Dr. Miller asked the board to consider approving the bridge so implementation work can proceed this summer.

No final action on the JED bridge was recorded in the transcript at this meeting; Dr. Miller said she would return with details as needed.