Aptos High has been rocked by the recent suicides of two of its students. The first was Nathan Phillips, a senior, whose body was found in the ocean next to the Cement Ship in Seacliff on December 12, 2013. Now another boy almost three months later, a sophomore at Aptos High, was discovered near the school on February 25 whose death was determined to be by hanging. Counselors were immediately available on campus to help students and teachers cope with the suicide.
“It’s tragic,” said Pajaro Valley Unified School District Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Instruction Murry Schekman. “We are trying to help in any way the District can and our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
In an email sent by Principal Casey O’Brien dated February 26, 2014 he said, “Mariners and Mariner families, I have some horrible news that you may or may not know yet. It has been confirmed that we have had yet another tragedy with one of our own. Sophomore student (deleted) has taken his own life yesterday afternoon. The school staff and students who knew (him) and who are aware are in shock and overwhelmed with grief to have lost another Mariner. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, loved ones and friends. What we have learned is that everybody deals with tragedy and grief in different ways. We have trained professionals deployed into (his) classes today and for the near future and we have professionals in the main office.”
The sheriff’s department was contacted and asked if they had any information on how common teen suicides are in the county. Sheriff Deputy Lt. Craig Wilson responded and said that teen suicides are relatively rare in our county. During four of the past five years, there was only one per year. The exception was 2013 during which there were two, one of those being Nathan’s.
Wilson also told us that there is a “Child Death Review Board” that meets quarterly to review all deaths of minors in the county from all causes. This includes accident, sickness, other health issues, suicide and homicide. Representatives from the sheriffs department, the CHP, Local hospitals, the county Health Services Agency and the Mental Health Services Departments review each incident.
Aptos High School will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday March 18 at 6:30 in the Aptos High Performing Arts Center. They will be sharing information on the support services that are in place both on and off campus as and the community agencies they have been working with as well as a discussion on the goals that Aptos High has for Campus Safety and what future goals look like.