"I cannot put into words how very pleased we were with the support from EDC in a moment of tragedy. They were so quick to respond to our call for help and had resources coming as quickly as possible. I have deeply enjoyed our conversations as they help bring the work back into the light when things have gotten challenging."
Multi-Tiered Suicide Prevention (MTSP) for Schools is designed to assist educational leaders in strengthening strategic planning and creating structural changes focused on suicide prevention within a multi-tiered system of support.
Suicide prevention efforts often include training, programs, and clinical practice, and districts and schools can support these actions through policy-level improvements within the entire system, from the classroom teacher to third-tier specialists. MTSP for Schools assists educators, counselors, and school and district leaders with creating and improving on EDC's six key components of school suicide.
About MTSP for Schools
Incorporating suicide prevention into multi-tiered systems of support
EDC’s expert-led technical assistance seeks to support school and district teams in improving their systems by creating structural changes in policy and practice through strategic planning, implementation, and sustainability planning. Our team supports schools in aligning existing behavioral and life-skill development efforts across tiers with evidence-informed suicide prevention components.
- Overview
This service is comprised of:
- Technical assistance for implementing safer suicide care practices in alignment with the Zero Suicide framework
- Eight community of practice workshops for school-level teams of 10-12 practitioners
- Tools for reflection, self-assessment, and action planning
- Related Frameworks
MTSP is guided by best practices in Community-Led Suicide Prevention, life-skills development, and Zero Suicide, a system-level approach to safer suicide care. MTSP integrates tier one prevention strategies that focus on reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors for suicide within the school environment with evidence-based safer suicide care practices at tiers 2 and 3, including suicide screening, collaborative safety planning and lethal means safety.
- Six Components
- Written protocols for helping students at risk of suicide (Informed by best practices in trauma-informed, life-skills development)
- Written protocols for response after a suicide
- Developing community partnerships to ensure students receive necessary support and services
- Identification of youth at-risk for suicide
- Promoting protective factors that enhance students’ wellbeing
- Engaging key stakeholders, including parents and school leadership, in suicide prevention messaging, planning, and training
- Alignment Areas
- Understanding SEL: Research & Reasoning
- Ensuring Equitable, Inclusive & Trauma-Informed SEL
- Implicit SEL Adaptive Practices
- Explicit SEL Adaptive Practices
- Peer Sharing & Applying Lessons Learned
- Technical Assistance
Teams will work with their technical assistance specialist between sessions to embed these learnings into practice and implement them in the classroom. Technical assistance specialists will work closely with teams to do the following:
- Assess needs and conduct an inventory audit on what suicide prevention protocols, programs, and policies are currently in place and are being actively utilized
- Provide tailored guidance on the 6 major components of school suicide prevention for teams and how to strengthen these components across the planning, implementation, and sustainability phases
- Provide evidence-based tools and resources to assist teams in each of these phases
- Provide expert recommendations and guidance for choosing best practice mental health screenings, trainings, programs and/or curricula
- Provide expert recommendations and guidance for building and sustaining community partnerships to support school suicide prevention
- Engage in annual on-site visits to observe and engage with each school team
- Community of Practice
Teams will work together in several workshops focused on each of the six components. Each workshop will entail the following:
- Peer sharing, knowledge and skill acquisition, and team planning time focused on all six components of school suicide prevention
- Opportunities to spotlight successes, challenges, and lessons learned from individual teams
- Trauma-informed SEL practices for all educators and leaders, and trainings on adult wellness and self-care.' Guided action-planning facilitated by EDC subject-matter experts
Resources
Six Components
Environmental Assessment
The MTSP for Schools Environmental Assessment includes:
Case Studies
Grants Guide
Engage MTSP for Schools
Ready to see how MTSP for Schools consultation can transform SEL and mental health in your school or district? Interested in learning more about pricing structures and available funding? Start the conversation today.