Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Resources

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The purpose is to raise awareness of this often stigmatized and difficult topic. The mental health and wellness of our students is extremely important to us and our hope is to provide information and resources, encourage our children to talk to a trusted adult, and to know that support is available. Each of our schools has highly-qualified and caring counselors. We also have resources available for families and students on our website.

To support both our students and staff, we have hired Laura Lupo as our district mental health coordinator. Ms. Lupo will work closely with schools to make sure there is access to resources for our families and students.

In order to better serve families and students, she is seeking feedback. Please take a moment to fill out this form by Friday, Sept. 23 to share your thoughts around mental health resources and needs in Meridian School District.

We also want to share these resources with families and students:

  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800-273-8255 or 988 (call or text)

    • Español, 888-628-9454

  • 24-Hour Crisis Line,  800-584-3578

  • Crisis Text – Text START or 741741

  • TeenLink Confidential Help Line, 866-833-6546 or www.teenlink.org

If you have questions or are worried about your child, please do not hesitate to call your school or to use one of the resources above.

Attendance Awareness Month and Attendance Notifications in ParentSquare

Good attendance habits are strongly linked to student academic success. Regular attendance helps students build routines, increase engagement by building relationships with peers and teachers and provides access to enrichment activities and athletics. Regular attendance also supports student success by limiting disruptions to their learning.

New this year, we are sending attendance notices to families through ParentSquare. If you have not excused your child’s absence ahead of time, an automatic alert will be sent to you through email, text and/or app notification.

Please note that teachers take attendance at the beginning of every day in elementary school and in every class for middle and high school. Notices at the elementary school are sent midday and notices for middle and high school are sent in the evening.

When you receive an attendance notice through ParentSquare, you will have an option to send a note to your school explaining the absence. The note will be sent to the school attendance secretary. You can still call your school to report absences.

Parents can adjust their notification settings in ParentSquare by activating an account. You can do this by either downloading the app on your phone or going to parentsquare.com/signin. If you have questions about ParentSquare, please visit our website.