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On November 12, 2019, I sat in the New Jersey State House...'
Senate Education Testimony
on the Rise of Teen Suicide
Provided by David Aderhold, Ed.D.
West Windsor – Plainsboro Regional School District
Superintendent of Schools
On November 12, 2019 I sat in NJ State House Room 103 and
testified to State Senators and Staff on Youth Mental Health. We
were convened in a similar fashion discussion. Since that time
life has been impacted by a global pandemic that has further
tested our strained social structures. During the past three years
we have lost countless more youth to death by suicide.
So what has changed? Besides this convening what has the state
done to support our student’s mental health? Has funding
changed? Have we increased the pipeline for mental health
providers? Have we increased the number of beds for youth
needing short or long-term hospitalization? Have we provided
flexibilities to districts to add staff to support mental health?
The answer to all questions is a resounding NO. The focus too
often has been about learning loss which is simply a made up
fallacy of politicians and pundits. What was lost was
socialization with periods of isolation and grave uncertainty.
Society has been upended and I find our focus is all too often in
the wrong places. When children are healthy, safe, encouraged,
challenged, and supported they thrive. We must create school
communities and systems of care that provide the robust
supports that our children need today vs. an antiquated and
redundant focus on test scores.
I have served school communities as a school or district
administrator for the past 21 years. During the past 14 years, I
have had the honor of serving the students, staff and
communities of West Windsor and Plainsboro. Throughout that
time, we have worked to put in place systems of support for
students with mental health concerns and suicidal ideations. As a
county, the Mercer County Superintendents have worked
together to organized shared professional development
opportunities, organized parental trainings, sponsored speakers,
and partnered with the Mercer County Traumatic Loss
Coalition. Further, I have worked in partnership with the
Statewide TLC and recently served as a keynote at the Fall 2022
Governor’s Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council.
This is my 10th year as Superintendent of Schools and 14th year
at central office. Despite all of our collective district efforts, we
have lost one staff member and three students to death by
suicide. We have also lost numerous parents and community
members to suicide, the last being just this past Tuesday evening
reported as a “Fatal Amtrak Train Pedestrian Strike.” The
circumstances surrounding each death is uniquely personal and
has left their families and loved ones with an indescribable loss.
As a school district we have advocated the need for a robust
mental health system of care for our students that is inclusive of
numerous critical components:
1. There is a need for therapeutic mental health services
available within school districts in order to meet the need of
our students and families and provide direct access to
clinical support. To accomplish this we need a mechanism
for funding through either a new budgetary category or an
ability to raise a SGLA for Mental Health Services.
2. These services need to have a direct relationship and
partnership with school districts and they must be onsite.
3. We must invest in robust recruitment and bolstering of the
mental health system of care that has a complete shortage
of mental health clinicians and in-patient therapeutic beds
for students.
4. With the rates of anxiety and depression that continue to
rise, the isolation of 2020 and 2021 pandemic school
years, and the period of lost socialization the crisis has
been exacerbated. Bullying numbers have seen an uptick
but with changed state processes and new reporting forms
it is uncertain if we can truly compare data sets pre and
post pandemic.
5. In WWP we replicated the SBYSP program and used
district funding to create the M.A.P.S. (Maximizing
Adolescents Potential for Success) Program. This is a
dynamic partnership between the West Windsor-Plainsboro
Regional School District and Rutgers – University
Behavioral Health Care (UBHC). This is in addition to our
SACS and School Counselors. The primary objective of
the program is to help assure that all students have the
opportunity to obtain a range of free and confidential
mental health services in schools with the overarching goal
of emotional wellness. Program services include:
Individual, group and family therapy
Crisis Intervention & Screening
Consultation with
CST/Guidance/Teachers/Outpatient Providers
Case Management & Referral to community resources
o Partial Programs
o Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
o Performcare
o Mobile Response
o Drug & Alcohol Services
Substance abuse prevention & intervention
Professional development workshops for school staff
Parent education and workshops
The goals of the program are to enhance the opportunities for
student learning by providing free and confidential mental health
services and psychoeducation in a non-threatening environment,
particularly for those that have limited access to services and
instill in them hope for the future. In addition, we will work with
families across all cultures and ethnicities in a way that supports
their values and beliefs about wellness and health care.
6. Mental Health First Aid Training for teachers and students
must be provided.
a. We have over 200 trained staff and are currently
training all juniors through “Youth Mental Health
First Aid.”
b. This training needs to be further developed for middle
schoolers.
7. As a district we train annually on suicide prevention and
crisis protocols. The state currently mandates 2 hours per
every 5 years.
8. Our crisis teams receive annual training on suicide and
homicidal ideations.
a. These trainings include screening protocols, reporting
procedures, communication protocols, risk
assessments, re-entry guidelines, exclusion
determinations, etc.
9. Further, in addition to our Crisis Management and
Emergency Procedures, we have created a district
Traumatic Loss Plan. This plan was originally developed
in 2010 after the tragic loss of a staff member due to death
by suicide.
10. It’s not enough to talk about suicide, you have to focus
on the culture and climate of our schools and provide
resources to support students as they navigate their journey
through our school systems. As such, as a district we have
continued to increase the number of counselors, nurses, and
SAC counselors as we work to build a comprehensive
support system.
11. As a district we have a strategic goal focused on SEL,
Mental Health and building and maintaining a supportive
culture focused on the health, safety, and well-being of the
Whole Child. Each building has an actively engaged
school climate and culture team focused upon this work.
12. We offer proactive programming for students and
parents.
13. Parent training occurs through our Parent University
Series.
14. Implemented GAGGLE to screen all GOOGLE
products.
15. We have increased partnerships with our local
religious leaders, West Windsor and Plainsboro Police,
TLC, NAMI, SAMHA of NJ, and UBHC.
Statewide focus must be paid to the lack of clinicians and the
lack of therapeutic hospitalization bed placements for youth.
All Districts need funding for mental health services. We
need to be able to have a budgetary allowance to exceed the
2% cap for such services.
We must also focus on staff self-care (physical, mental, and
emotional care) and the pressures on our staff through and
after the pandemic. We have provided an EAP for all staff
above and beyond any services offered through the respective
associations. Further, we have worked with our insurance
representatives to run health fairs for staff and provide
additional resources and professional development.
