A Rochester student is dead after falling from the roof of School of the Arts on Monday.
Interim Superintendent Demario Strickland said in a statement released by the district on Tuesday that the student died Monday night.
According to the Rochester Police Department, a 15-year-old girl experiencing a suicidal crisis fell from the school rooftop before first responders could make contact with her.
“The Rochester City School District is heartbroken at the loss of a student from School of the Arts who passed away last night,” Strickland said in his statement. “Our hearts are with the student's family, friends, and everyone impacted by this tragedy. The entire RCSD community expresses its condolences to the family. Losing a young life is always a profound tragedy, and school counselors and the District’s Trauma, Illness, and Grief team will support students and staff through this challenging time as they work through their feelings and grief.”
School board member Isaiah Santiago, a graduate of the high school, said there needs to be more overall support for young people and their wellbeing across the city. And the school board has a role in that.
“Policies that support mental health in the district can really create the climate to support our young people in ways that's needed," Santiago said. “For crisis responses, for stuff like this, for collaboration with our community, for training, you know, and also mental health education, like, there's policies that the board can have for this district.”
School board President Camille Simmons said students across the district need meaningful, lasting emotional support.
“We have to be in tune with their needs," Simmons said. "We have to be listening to them. ... They're telling us by their actions what they need.”
She said that needs to be a community effort including district leadership.
“We have to start looking at our systems. We have to start looking at how we're doing things internally. What is happening? And what can we do to better support our students?”
Simmons also said she plans to take a closer look at what mental health first-aid training staff are receiving, and whether that is happening across the district.
Board member Isaiah Santiago graduated from School of the Arts in 2022 and has been an advocate for increasing youth mental health resources. He says the school board has the power to update and review policies that support student wellbeing.
“I hope that the board is willing to push for our young people's mental health, and I do have trust in my colleagues that that's what they would do," Santiago said. "But unfortunately, with situations like this, we respond instead of being proactive.”
Santiago said that during Thursday's school board meeting, he intends to propose ways to improve supports for student wellness.
Mayor Malik Evans released a statement on the student's death late in the afternoon Tuesday. In it he noted that the city has scheduled a forum on mental health and substance abuse for young people ages 12-21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 12 at School of the Arts. Information on registration is forthcoming, according to the statement.
