Families and staff packed GCISD’s Professional Development and Education Center (PDEC) the evening of November 9 for a good reason: to celebrate the first-ever districtwide induction for Hope Squad members. Hope Squad is a nationwide peer-to-peer suicide prevention program started by a principal in Utah who had experienced one too many student suicides and vowed “that he would do everything he could to prevent another child from taking their life.” In GCISD, the program is in every middle school, Colleyville Heritage High School and Grapevine High School.
“Students are nominated by their peers as good listeners — students who other students naturally go to and trust,” Emberly Hill, GCISD director of counseling and general education homebound services, stated.
She also emphasized the very important point that “this is not expecting those students to be the counselor. We’re training Hope Squad members to get their friend to a trusted adult.”
Hope Squad members all have parent permission to participate, and additionally they go through training where they learn such things as listening for trigger words that indicate there is something wrong and their friend needs to talk to a trusted adult. Before officially becoming Hope Squad members, a meeting is also held for parents whose children are nominated where information is shared about the program and the role of the student, with the goal of families making the ultimate decision on whether to participate.
The idea for the district-wide induction came from Roy Rodriguez, student advocacy counselor at CHHS, who works with Hope Squad members.
“These students are doing a huge service for other students,” Rodriguez shared. At CHHS, he organized the first-ever induction for his students last school year.
“Our thought process was that if we can induct students into National Honor Society for good grades, why can’t we induct students who are in Hope Squad being kind, spreading hope and looking for signs that might save other students’ lives,” Rodriguez said.
The district-wide induction not only included honoring students, but they also celebrated with cake and a slideshow highlighting each student, including how long they have been in Hope Squad. Some of them have been part of the program since sixth grade.
“We had anticipated a large number, but nowhere near the number of students and families who attended,” Rodriguez said, adding that 92 students were honored that evening. “That didn’t include all of the students who had other obligations that evening, so we do have a large number of Hope Squad students across the district.”
While being a Hope Squad member is good to put on college applications, Rodriguez said that there is another reason why this program is so important.
“In this world that is so fast-paced, this program shows that it’s okay to be kind. It’s okay to take time out of your day to make a difference.”