Suicide Prevention
PPS has a suicide prevention protocol that is implemented for any students in a mental health crisis. Students that exhibit any gestures, talk of suicide (including written, art, and online), or suicide attempts will be placed on the suicide protocol with the support of school staff, the school counselor or psychologist, and an administrator who is responsible for the initiation of the protocol.
All school staff and faculty are mandated reporters, and should report when they believe a student is a danger to themselves (in addition to if they are in danger from others). There are different protocols depending on the severity of the situation. Additionally, there are many outside resources for parents and students that can be helpful, many of which are described here.
When a student displays risk for suicide, school staff are instructed to notify a school administrator or other counselor. The school counselor, social worker, psychologist or other health staff then performs a suicide screening to assess the degree of severity.
PPS' protocol for suicide intervention based on levels of risk can be accessed through this flowchart.[1]
- ↑ Snapshot of link "this flowchart." (Portland Public Schools Suicide Intervention Protocol Flow): https://web.archive.org/web/20250729050643/https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1YMZuP2M7kzQ8oBiHo1S9yCYXJQ19pd0fKOZVn_8vnJw/view
