Glenbard News Spotlight: Suicide prevention & awareness at Glenbard North

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and our Glenbard District 87 school communities are working together to raise awareness, provide resources, and remind every student that it’s okay to ask for help.

In today’s spotlight, Assistant Principal for Student Services Erika Willis shares how Glenbard North is taking meaningful steps to support students and foster a culture of care and belonging.

Spreading the Word
At Glenbard North, we’re recognizing Suicide Prevention & Awareness Month through a variety of school-wide initiatives designed to encourage open conversations and connect students to support. We’ve placed awareness signs around the school and are offering bracelet giveaways, butterfly tattoos, and inspirational cards during lunch—all sharing positive messages of hope, support, and connection.

These efforts are led by Kristin Myers and our SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) club, which plays a key role in spreading awareness and helping to reduce the stigma around mental health and suicide. Additionally, our library is featuring a collection of reading materials focused on mental health and emotional well-being, giving students another opportunity to learn and reflect.

Together, these initiatives send a clear message: it’s okay to talk about suicide, and help is always available.

In-School Resources Available
At North, we offer a range of support services for students dealing with self-harm concerns—whether they are experiencing it themselves or are worried about a peer. Our Student Services Department includes trained school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and speech pathologists who are equipped to assess student safety using formal tools, provide brief school-based counseling, and connect families with community mental health resources for more in-depth support.

We take a proactive approach by screening all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors annually for suicide and depression using the Signs of Suicide (SOS) curriculum and screener from Elyssa’s Mission. This helps us identify students who may be struggling and ensure they receive timely support.

Teachers and staff are also highly engaged in student safety. They are trained to recognize warning signs and frequently refer students directly to the counseling office—often walking them in personally if there is an immediate concern. There is a strong culture of care and collaboration at North, where emotional safety is treated with the same seriousness as physical safety. Our staff is committed to creating a safe and supportive environment for every student.

Normalizing Difficult Conversations
We’ve made intentional efforts to normalize and destigmatize conversations about suicide, with the goal of creating a school culture where students feel safe talking openly and reaching out for help.

In our health classes, students engage in a mental health unit that includes education on suicide and self-harm, helping to build awareness and reduce stigma through honest, age-appropriate discussions. Outside the classroom, we’ve created Stef’s Corner—a wellness space in our 1300 hallway, where students can explore emotional support resources on their own terms, including books, calming tools, and positive affirmations.

In addition, all students have crisis hotline numbers printed on the back of their student ID cards, and these numbers are also posted throughout the building. Having this information visible in multiple locations provides students with immediate access to support and sends a powerful, implicit message: it’s okay to talk about emotional distress, and seeking help is encouraged—not stigmatized.

Our staff further reinforces this message. Teachers often partner with school social workers to lead classroom or extracurricular discussions when topics like suicide arise—for example, during the reading of The Catcher in the Rye, or after-school conversations connected to theater productions like Ordinary People and Clue.

Through these combined efforts, we aim to foster a supportive, stigma-free environment where students know they are not alone—and that help is always available.