As the implementation of the new Maine suicide prevention law requiring suicide awareness and prevention education for all school personnel moves forward, many schools are also considering what is being taught to students.
Maine has been a leader in the country in youth suicide prevention efforts for more than two decades including assisting in the development of a research-based middle and high school program that includes classroom lessons. The Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program collaborated with national experts in youth suicide prevention to create Lifelines: A Suicide Prevention Program.
NAMI Maine, the Maine Suicide Prevention Program’s training contractor, is offering a Lifelines Teacher Training on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at the Burton Cross Building in Augusta from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is a full-day training available at no cost is designed for health educators and others qualified to implement suicide prevention lessons in the classroom as part of the comprehensive school health education curriculum. These lessons are aligned with Maine Learning Results Health Education Standards.
Gatekeeper training is a prerequisite to this program which includes the following four components:
1.) Administrative readiness which includes policies and procedures, and demonstrates support for school activities regarding suicide prevention.
2.) Training for school faculty and staff that aligns to Maine’s new suicide awareness and prevention education law.
3.) Parent and community workshop resources that providing basic information on adolescent suicide and reviewing school protocols.
4.) Student curriculum lessons that are ideally delivered after the aforementioned are in place. There are four classroom lessons designed for implementation in grade 8, 9 or 10 and provides basic facts on suicide, guidance on a student’s role in suicide prevention and local resources.
For more information or to register, click here. For information on other suicide prevention trainings available through NAMI Maine, visit the NAMI Maine Training Calendar or contact Suicide Prevention Training Program Coordinator Kaitlynn Littlefield.
Trainings are also posted on the Maine DOE Professional Development Calendar at www.maine.gov/doe/calendar/.