District leaders announced Monday that fall semester final exams, which were scheduled for later this week, are canceled for both Anderson and Turpin high schools.
The schools will remain open for the week, officials said, offering mental health support for students who need it. Attendance is encouraged but not required.
Two Anderson class of 2020 grads spoke at the meeting, pleading for further mental health support within the district.
Morgan Gonzales, a current student at the University of Cincinnati, was emotional while delivering her speech to the board. She recognized the implementation of Hope Squad, a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program, and other district mental health supports, but voiced that those efforts are not working.
"It's not enough," she said. "And I'm sorry, but it's not."
The district needs mental health instruction in its curriculum, she said, and more counselors and therapists within school buildings. Gonzales also asked for more staff trainings on mental health awareness and resources for students that can connect them to outside help, such as local therapists, if they should need it.
The staff that's available now are not enough – in numbers or training – to handle the magnitude of mental health issues on top of academic supports, Gonzales said.
"Mental health should be taken as seriously, or more seriously, than physical health," she said. Currently there are physical health class requirements to graduate. Gonzales suggests having a similar requirement for mental health awareness and education.
Nick Lupariello, another 2020 Anderson graduate, said he had an overall positive experience at Anderson.
But Lupariello can imagine how many current Anderson students are feeling. He lost one of his best friends, David Hahn, to suicide in 2017. David was 15 years old and a freshman at Anderson at the time, according to his obituary on TP White & Sons Funeral Home.
Nearly five years later, Lupariello said there is "no greater pain" than the loss of a loved one, especially a child. He and David ate lunch together, played piano together in practice rooms after school and shared funny videos, he said.
"During my time at Anderson there was very little visible change and now more students have joined David in taking their own lives," Lupariello said.
The implementation of Hope Squad, he said, was the most visible change he saw during high school.
"This organization asked its members to indirectly take on mental health responsibility for their peers, sending the message to myself and my peers that the problem was their own, a result of their actions and theirs to solve," he said.
Something has to change, Lupariello said, and now. He said the new board, which includes Rasmussen and four newly elected members, has a chance to make a difference.
"They have a real chance to realize that there is no average ACT score, that there is no new stadium, that there is no AC upgrade worth more than a student's life," he said. "These children trust you, they rely on you and they need you. Please do not fail them."
Prebles listed various resources available to students during the meeting, including clinical therapists and mental health counselors throughout the district, emergency response training for staff and anti-bullying protocols with an anonymous hotline for students. He encouraged the community to keep a reflective, not critical, mindset as the district continues to support students grieving or otherwise struggling with mental health issues.
"No one, not in this room or this community, is satisfied at this moment," he said. "However, everyone in this room and in this community cares. This is our starting point, so to speak. We have resources and we have willingness. Forest Hills School District is strong because it is made up of people who truly care and want to do everything they can to ensure students are safe, secure, cared for and are successful. Our commitment is to continue the dialogue, continue to reflect and adjust our programming, continue to work collaboratively.
"In the meantime, I ask that we keep an eye on each other. Pay special attention to your students' grief, and to your own."
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or contact the lifeline online .
Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.
