Last Saturday, a senior student at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California committed suicide. This is the third suicide at Gunn High School this year and the ninth since 2009. An academic powerhouse in the shadow of Stanford University, many have attributed the cause for at least some of these suicides on the extreme pressure students feel to succeed academically. While the parents of this weekend's victim released a statement saying their son suffered from depression and that his suicide was not related to academic pressures, it hasn't stopped the community from taking a step back to truly assess whether or not they are driving their students beyond the brink.
I find this discussion timely as we had a faculty meeting earlier this week where we discussed the culture of Sage Hill School. I've been to Gunn High School many times in my former career as a college admissions officer and I can tell you that our two schools are not that different from one another. As we move forward in our discussions about what kind of school we want to be, I believe keeping the struggles that the Gunn High School community has faced should be at the forefront of our thinking. Ivy League admissions and AP test scores are certainly not worth a student's life. We all need to do better.
If you would like to read more about this week's school board meeting where many Gunn students came forward to defend their high school, click here. There is also a link here to the audio of a conversation of Gunn community members recently conducted by the local public radio station. Finally, here is a link to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for anyone who is ever feeling like they have no where to turn.
I find this discussion timely as we had a faculty meeting earlier this week where we discussed the culture of Sage Hill School. I've been to Gunn High School many times in my former career as a college admissions officer and I can tell you that our two schools are not that different from one another. As we move forward in our discussions about what kind of school we want to be, I believe keeping the struggles that the Gunn High School community has faced should be at the forefront of our thinking. Ivy League admissions and AP test scores are certainly not worth a student's life. We all need to do better.
If you would like to read more about this week's school board meeting where many Gunn students came forward to defend their high school, click here. There is also a link here to the audio of a conversation of Gunn community members recently conducted by the local public radio station. Finally, here is a link to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for anyone who is ever feeling like they have no where to turn.
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