Oxford High earned national media attention for its mental health program a few years before it became the scene of a mass shooting
Oxford High School was once celebrated for a mental health program for students.
The program allowed students to share struggles over a loudspeaker and thank those who helped them.
Today the school grieves the loss of four students after a mass shooting.
Four years before an Oxford High School student was charged in a mass shooting, the Michigan school was in the spotlight for a different reason – a mental health program for students.
The program "13 Reasons Why Not" was designed to put an uplifting spin on the controversial Netflix show "13 Reasons Why," in which a high schooler explains on cassette tapes her reasons for committing suicide.
The Oxford High School program, which was covered by ABC, CBS, Today.com and other outlets in 2017, allowed students to share their struggles over the loudspeaker for 13 days and finish by thanking those who helped them through that time. They talked about abusive relationships, cruel teammates and bullying, Today.com reported.
The Oxford High School website today shares links to some of the media coverage and highlights how the students opened the dialogue about suicide and made a global impact through media outlets, world-wide. But a devastating alert now sits atop that webpage, responding to the shooting on Nov. 30 that killed four students and injured seven others.
"As we grapple with the horrific tragedy in our school community, we grieve the students who lost their lives and we ache for all those who have been injured and impacted," the alert states. "We appreciate the heartfelt outpouring of support we have received from across our community, our state, and our nation."
Authorities are still investigating the shooting, but have said the suspect Ethan Crumbley's parents met with school officials that morning. The school had "contact" with Crumbley earlier about "concerning" classroom behavior. The 15-year-old is being charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder and a terrorism-related charge.
The school and superintendent's office did not respond to a request for comment. The media coverage of the "13 Reasons Why" program seemed to halt in 2017, although the Detroit Free Press in 2019 profiled one of the participants who became "the face" of Netflix's "Tell Them" campaign, encouraging people to seek help when needed.
Read the original article on Business Insider
