'They needed this program': Boise School District implements Hope Squad

BOISE — The numbers are in. And as far as mental health goes, things are looking better for Boise School District.

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From 2022 to 2024, the district saw dramatic decreases in depression and social isolation, BSD Supervisor of Counseling Services Jason Shanks said during an interview with the Idaho Press.

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The district is aiming to maintain the positive trajectory by implementing a program called Hope Squad, a nonprofit that originated in Utah. Hope Squad focuses on peer-to-peer suicide prevention and teaching students to recognize the signs of suicidality and connect their peers to resources and trusted adults. Hope Squad is for junior high and high school students.

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According to Katie Rotchford, Boise High School’s Hope Squad advisor, the program is very intentional about not turning teens into therapists. Instead, it gives students education and information about mental health and resources they have available to them to better help their peers. The program helps students listen to each other better, while having boundaries in place so that if someone is struggling, a student can turn to a trusted adult for help.

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“Last year we had several student deaths. We knew we needed to do something,” Shanks said. “We need to tap into our students and have them tell us what’s going to be effective and have them tell us how they’re impacting each other and what would impact them.”

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In 2022, 59% of Boise School District students felt socially isolated, according to a wellness survey conducted by BSD for their junior high and high school students — that number dropped by 19% in 2024. In 2022, 38% of students reported having depression — that number dropped by 20% in 2024. Depression rates among Boise School District students were once higher than the national average and now, they’re below it.

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In 2022, the district had 7,700 students take the wellness survey. In 2024, 6,341 students took it. The survey is taken by middle school and high school students.

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The district could not conduct a 2023 wellness survey because not enough students opted into the survey to make the data viable, Shanks said.

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The Boise School District serves approximately 22,500 students and encompasses 33 elementary schools, eight junior high schools, and five senior high schools, according to a note from Superintendent Lisa Roberts that’s on the district’s website. It is the second-largest school district in Idaho, behind only West Ada.

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Over the last two years, each school in the district has come up with individual plans to address different things students struggle with, including mental health. Some schools, like Fairmont Junior High, conducted additional surveys with their students asking if they had an adult they trust in the school. After surveys showed most students did not have a trusted adult in the building, the school had teachers and school staff purposefully check in with students and create trusting relationships with them. North Junior High and other schools in the district participate in kindness events, focused on spreading kindness throughout the school.

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This is the first year that the district has called on Hope Squad. Every student in Hope Squad was nominated by their peers, who were surveyed at the end of last school year and asked to name a student they trust. Those students who were widely trusted among their peers now get together during third period in Rotchford’s classroom to learn about mental health, discuss and prepare events for students.

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“A lot of the protocol talks about just listening without judgment and making an assessment based on that training about signs of suicide and risk factors to determine if that person is in need of emergent care,” Rotchford said. “... It would be lovely to be like, ‘well, schools are schools, and they shouldn’t talk about mental health,’ but that doesn’t reflect our reality. Students struggle … they needed this program.”

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“Students don’t necessarily know what Hope Squad is, but they’re feeling the effects of it,” Rotchford continued. “Students are showing up, they’re talking, they’re laughing, they’re participating. They’re getting the message, even if they don’t quite know who we are yet. And to me, that means that we’re moving in the right direction.”

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STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

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“I really like it because I struggled with my mental health for a really long time, and I’ve not found anything put on for the student body that felt as genuine as this,” Frank Thomas, a sophomore at Boise High, said. “... Boise has a lovely community, and I think it’s like a great class that just elevates that. We just give more opportunities for kids that don’t feel involved to get involved.”

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Kids her age, Thomas said, absolutely struggle with depression and stress, so it’s important to have events that bring students together and encourage students to take care of themselves.

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Hope Squad also helps the students within it.

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“I’ve definitely made a lot of friends here that I didn’t think I was going to,” sophomore Opal Pirus said. “I’ve known people here that I’ve been acquaintances with, and then recently, I’ve become really close with them. Mrs. Rotchford is my favorite teacher ever. She’s the best, and I feel really safe in this class, which is not common in most schools.”

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Students in Hope Squad utilize a reporting Google form to submit screenshots of information they have received from peers via text, social media or online posts, according to Boise High junior Zoe Robinson. Other students at Boise High have access to another Google form, where they can also report themselves or a peer they’re concerned about, Robinson said.

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“We just need people to believe in us,” junior Elena Chamberlain said. “One of our worries was that after two or three years, the district might not want to keep implementing Hope Squad, because it’s a difficult program ... but we have so much potential, this program has so much potential.”

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Originally published at https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/they-needed-this-program-boise-school-district-implements-hope-squad/article_dc95a5d2-f55b-11ef-99ea-831b69f64a49.html