WOODSIDE, Del.- Polytech High School has announced that it will be holding a series of parent meetings on suicide prevention after three students committed suicide in the last month.
The most recent student- a 17-year-old boy- died Wednesday night. And according to officials, another student committed suicide on Monday. The first suicide, which occurred about a month ago, involved a female student.
The first meeting was held on Thursday night. Additional meetings will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 17 and 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. All of the meetings will be held in the Polytech Adult Education auditorium.
During the meetings, school leaders will be joined by mental health professionals, who will be present to provide information about common reactions following a suicide and how adults can help youths cope. They also will provide information about suicide and how mental illness in adolescents, including risk factors and warning signs of suicide.
School administrators said that in light of recent events, they are doing everything they can to ease the pain of students. They said trained counselors were on-site to meet with students and staff on Thursday and will continue to be there over the next few weeks as needed.
At a prayer vigil held Thursday morning, many Polytech students wore red and white in honor of the students who died.
"Everybody was crying and it is heartbreaking because of what has happened," said Brianna Griffith, a Polytech junior. "It touched everyone and I think our whole school is coming together. We are coming together trying to get through it."
Officials are denying that bullying played a role in the suicides. According to a statement posted on the Delaware Department of Education's website on behalf of the Polytech School District, "While many rumors are circulating, State Police have stated that these three incidents were unrelated and were not bullying-related."
Aerial view of Polytech High School in Woodside, Del. (Photo: WBOC Chopper 16)
