BOISE, Idaho – Following a series of tragic student and teacher deaths, the Boise School District is urging the community to seek out mental health resources. In a letter to parents and staff, school leaders expressed their concern over the district’s ongoing struggle with mental health, highlighting the recent deaths of multiple students and a teacher. While the district did not disclose specific details about the deaths, it categorized them as both accidents and suicides.
Boise School Board President Dave Wagers and Superintendent Coby Dennis emphasized the community’s collective pain and encouraged students, families, and staff to utilize the mental health resources available to them. The letter was sent to parents, guardians, and staff within the state’s second-largest school district, which serves approximately 23,000 students. Acknowledging the district’s ongoing efforts to address mental health challenges, they highlighted the availability of highly-trained professional counselors, social workers, and child psychologists within the school system.
Additionally, the district has established partnerships with various mental health organizations, including a contract with BPA Health, a Boise-based behavioral health and managed services company, to offer no-cost counseling to patrons of the Boise School District. Beyond the school setting, the district deploys a crisis response team, consisting of counselors, security personnel, health professionals, and school administrators, to provide support after a tragedy.
The letter also urged parents and guardians to engage with Communities for Youth, a collaborative initiative promoting child wellbeing. Wagers and Dennis emphasized the importance of developing a deeper understanding of mental health, highlighting the prevalence of depression and suicidal thoughts among Boise students, according to surveys conducted by the district over the past two years.
Furthermore, the letter referenced the recent deaths of students and a teacher, addressing the impact of these losses on the entire school community. While specific details about the recent deaths were not provided, recent cases include the sudden passing of a Fairmont Junior High School teacher and the deaths of high school students from Boise High School and Timberline High School. These tragedies have prompted a call for the community to come together to support one another during these difficult times.