Volunteer Resources

Volunteer Information

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy appreciates the value, expertise, and effectiveness of community volunteers for a variety of tasks, events, and projects. These individuals are crucial to the success of many endeavors that benefit the student body.

In order to ensure the safety of everyone in our buildings, approved volunteers must complete a series of requirements. All volunteers must work directly with and under the supervision and guidance of an employee at the Academy.

Steps to become a volunteer

1. 1 Connect with a staff member who is looking for volunteers to discuss the contributions you may be able to make. The staff member will provide you with an agreement to complete.
2. 2 Review and complete the agreement and training.
3. 3 The staff member will notify you when your agreement has been approved.
4. 4 Following approval, stop by the Main Office for fingerprinting and background check paperwork.
5. 5 Submit all completed background check documents to the Main Office.
6. 6 The NH Department of Safety will provide the Academy with your background check results. Administration will inform the staff member when you are approved for volunteering. The staff member will then notify you, the volunteer.

Suicide Awareness & Prevention

In 2019, the Suicide Prevention Education statute (RSA 193:J) was signed into law mandating that school districts provide evidence-based suicide prevention education and training to staff and students in an effort to reduce suicides in our school population. Through the adoption and implementation of this policy and plan, Coe-Brown seeks to join with families and the community in this important work, understanding that suicide prevention is an integral component of the trauma-informed System of Care and Learning Supports that promotes student social-emotional health and wellbeing and equitable access to education.

In implementing this policy and plan, Coe-Brown:

• Recognizes that physical and mental health are integral to student success, both in school and beyond graduation;
• Believes that only through a proactive and collaborative approach between the school, families and the community, can the problem of youth suicide be addressed;
• Pairs this policy with others that support the overall emotional and behavioral health of students, such as the Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention-Bullying Policy.

Please see the Student Handbook for the full Suicide Awareness & Prevention Policy. View Student Handbook

Responsible Personnel

• A team of individuals who are trained in the various components of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention will be identified and a point of contact will be designated for issues related to suicide prevention and policy implementation.
• All staff members shall report students they believe to be at-risk for suicide to the Headmaster or designee.
• The Director of Counseling shall serve as the Suicide Prevention Coordinator.
• Any screenings done in schools will be collected and reported as part of a system-wide data collection effort to support the mental health and well-being of all students.
• All school personnel and students will be encouraged to help create a trauma-informed, equitable culture of respect and support both in the classroom and across the school and district.
• Students will be explicitly taught and encouraged to tell any staff member if they or a friend are feeling suicidal or need help. While confidentiality and privacy are important, students will be taught that when there is a risk of suicide, safety comes first.

Student and Staff Education

If a student discloses suicidal thoughts, it is the Academy’s procedure that the student be evaluated by a mental health professional to determine the level of risk to their safety.

According to New Hampshire Law RSA 169C, failure to provide adequate services to a child in need is considered neglect, and all school personnel are mandated reporters.

Suicide Warning Signs

(Not a complete list)

• Talking about death and dying in general
• Talking about suicide or wanting to die; talking about means or methods to kill oneself; obtaining a weapon or other means
• Isolating self from friends and family
• Feeling life is meaningless; feeling hopeless, helpless
• Putting life in order or giving away possessions
• Picking fights, arguing, irritability, increased anger
• Refusing help, feeling beyond help
• Sudden improvement in mood after being down or withdrawn
• Neglect of appearance, hygiene
• Sleep and/or appetite changes
• Dropping of activities
• Direct verbal clues such as “I wish I were dead,” “You will be better off without me,” “I am so tired of it all,” “Pretty soon you will not have to worry about me,” or “No one will miss me when I am gone.”

If you observe any of these signs or have other reasons to suspect your child may be at risk of suicide, ASK THEM. Say, “I am concerned about you. You are not yourself lately. Are you thinking about killing yourself?”

Other factors may increase suicidal behavior such as previous attempts, alcohol and substance abuse, mental illness, a family tragedy, and exposure to other young people who have experience with suicidal thinking/behavior. Grief and loss issues such as the death of a relative, friend, or pet, or a breakup of a relationship can trigger thoughts of dying.

Receiving information that your child is thinking about suicide can produce a wide range of emotions including disbelief, anxiety, sadness, guilt, and anger, to name a few. All these reactions are normal and common in such situations. Fortunately, there are services and supportive professionals willing to step forward to offer information and a helping hand. If you receive a phone call from school staff informing you that your child is at risk, you will be provided with some recommendations and requirements for additional assessment. The safety of your child is our priority.

Protective Factors

(Not a complete list)

Protective factors are the positive conditions and resources that promote resiliency and reduce the potential for youth suicide. These include:

• Close family bonds
• A powerful sense of self-worth
• A sense of personal control
• A stable environment
• Best friends
• Responsibility to others
• Activities
• Pets
• Lack of access to lethal means

Resuming the School Routine

• For students returning to school after a mental health crisis (e.g., suicide ideation, attempt or psychiatric hospitalization), whenever possible, the Headmaster or designee shall meet with the student’s parent or guardian, and if appropriate, include the student to discuss re-entry.
• This meeting shall address next steps needed to ensure the student’s readiness for return to school and plan for the first day back and continued interventions and recommendations.
• Following a student hospitalization, parents/guardians are encouraged to inform the school counselor of the student’s hospitalization to ensure continuity of service provision and increase the likelihood of a successful re-entry.
• Resources within the community may be accessed to support this transition.
• Release forms will be shared if possible, to enable effective communication with all mental health supports the student has in place during this time.
• A conversation during re-entry will occur with student and parent/guardian about maintaining privacy about the events that have occurred. This includes maintaining privacy on social media. Staff can guide students on a comfortable response if questions arise about the student’s absence.

The goal of this process is to:

• Create a response that is coordinated with the student, parent/guardian and outside health care providers.
• Identify ways to ease the transition back into the school environment (i.e., whether or not the student will be required to make up missed work, the nature of check-in/check-out visits, and other necessary accommodations, etc.).
• Establish agreed upon intervals for check-ins with parent/guardians and student by phone or in-person (e.g. for a period of three months) with more frequent check-ins initially, and then fading support.
• Discuss confidentiality: The Headmaster or designee shall disclose to the student’s teachers and other relevant staff that the student is returning after a medically related absence and may need adjusted deadlines for assignments and extra supports. The Headmaster or designee shall be available to teachers to discuss any concerns they may have regarding the student after re-entry. Information will be shared on a need-to-know basis, to support the confidentiality of students.

Bullying Prevention & Intervention

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy is committed to providing a safe school environment in which all members of the school community are treated with respect. Please refer to the Student Handbook for the complete Bullying Prevention policy for information on how school staff responds to reports of alleged bullying behavior.

“Bullying” is a single significant incident or a pattern of incidents involving a written, verbal, or electronic communication, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at another student which: a) physically harms a student or damages the student’s property; b) causes emotional distress to a student; c) interferes with a student’s educational opportunities; d) creates a hostile educational environment; or e) substantially disrupts the orderly operation of the school. “Bullying” includes actions motivated by an imbalance of power based on a student’s actual or perceived personal characteristics, behaviors, or beliefs, or motivated by the student’s association with another person and based on the other person’s characteristics, behaviors, or beliefs.

How to Report Bullying

• Students who believe they have been the victim of bullying should report the alleged acts immediately to their counselor. If the student is more comfortable reporting the alleged act to a person other than the counselor, the student may tell any school district employee or volunteer about the alleged bullying.
• School employees or volunteers who witness, receive a report of, or have knowledge or belief that bullying may have occurred shall inform the Director of Counseling as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the school day.

Teachers, school counselors, administrators, and the security officer work together to educate students about bullying, including:

• Bullying behaviors
• How to respond to negative behaviors and bullying
• How to seek help from adults and how to report bullying
• How to support peers who may be experiencing bullying

Mandated Reporter Information

Statutorily Mandated Reporting — All Persons

Learn the signs of neglect, physical, and sexual abuse to identify a child victim and understand your responsibility as a mandated reporter.

Children Depend on You to KNOW the Signs

Adults have a responsibility to be aware of any changes in a child’s behavior and the emotional and physical signs that can indicate abuse or neglect. Awareness of these signs is a crucial step to protect our children. Know the signs of abuse and help educate others.

Everyone in New Hampshire is a Mandated Reporter

Under New Hampshire law (RSA 169-C:29), every person who has “reason to suspect” that a child has been abused or neglected is required to report that suspicion to DCYF (Division of Children, Youth and Families of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services) or directly to the police. Under RSA 169-C:30, the initial report “shall be made immediately via telephone or otherwise.”

The requirement to report is not dependent on whether there is proof of the abuse or neglect, nor is it dependent upon whether the information suggests the abuse or neglect is continuing or happened in the past. Any doubt regarding whether to report should be resolved in favor of reporting. Failure to report may be subject to criminal prosecution and potential personal liability, while a report made in good faith is entitled to both civil and criminal immunity. Additionally, a “credential holder,” as defined in New Hampshire Department of Education Rule 501.02(h), who fails to report suspected abuse or neglect risks having action taken by the New Hampshire Department of Education against his/her credential. See N.H. Code of Conduct for Educators, Ed. 510.05 (e).

You can also find further information through Know & Tell, a training and professional development program for all adults in New Hampshire: knowandtell.org