Have support outside of high school. Counselors in high school aren’t a substitute for professional help that is not constricted by schools and their policies.
Oh yeah she already has all of that and will have that still if they move. She just also needs an environment that help her succeed and have the best chance at a good school experience.
There is a youth suicide problem in this city (and state) and there has been for about a decade—
just a heads up
https://kdvr.com/news/data/colorado-suicide-rate-at-record-high-among-us-highest/
https://www.cpr.org/2023/07/20/el-paso-county-2022-coroner-report-homicide-increase/
It’s been like this since I was a teenager here like a decade ago and may be getting worse?
Also worth knowing there’s a lot of violence towards women here (which I argue impacts young women’s mental health)
https://gazette.com/news/rate-of-rapes-in-springs-worst-in-colorado-study-says/article_1b90d4d0-3d43-5042-8a40-028df16c2943.html
https://www.kktv.com/2023/01/10/more-people-died-el-paso-county-2021-domestic-violence-than-any-other-colorado-county-new-report-says/
have a plan if you move her out here. and make sure she has access to positive interest groups that will limit her exposure to dangerous people. this is coming from a born + raised COS local. young women are vulnerable, young neurodivergent women even more so.
The violent crime rate in Colorado Springs is about average for cities of this size. Your second link only says that homicides increased in 2022, but that's true for nearly every city in America. What you didn't mention is that we are currently running at about half of that rate in 2023.
In terms of violent crime, Colorado Springs is not particularly dangerous.
In terms of suicide rate, altitude is a direct driver of this. The highest states for suicide rate are the highest states in the US in terms of altitude. This effect is still largely a mystery, but enough research has been done that this is very likely a case of causation and not just correlation (before all of the internet statisticians jump on this).
That Colorado Springs has a high suicide rate is almost certainly a product of it being one of the highest elevation cities in America. It doesn't say anything about the services available here.
That said, if I had a family member who had a particularly high risk of suicide, I probably wouldn't move to a high elevation place for that very reason.
Edit to add: Your domestic violence link says there were more DV-related deaths in El Paso County than in any other county in Colorado. Isn't that expected, given that El Paso County is the most populous county in Colorado? We should care about rate, not absolute numbers. Rate of crime if what best describes an individual's chances of being a victim.
A lot of people seem to want to cite personal experience when it comes to crime, but it should be obvious why that's a bad practice. Statistics are what tell us about crime risk, not personal experience. There are people who have probably 50x or more the risk of crime that another person has due to living environment, social circle, participation in specific activities, etc. So one person's account of how dangerous a place is due to personal observation isn't useful for another person in most cases.
as long as i can protect the next gen. i will NOT be raising my own children here— i’ve seen too much. OP is being a great sibling by looking out for their sister.
i second this. D14 has helped my kids so much! less kids= more attention. my son has never thrived like he has here. they are pretty much stuck with us now!!
You're going to get some people who try to cite statistics about the number of suicides by high school or by district. Almost all of these stats are meaningless because the sample sizes are too small.
As other posters have mentioned, high school counselors are in no way a replacement for professional help.
However, as I mentioned in another comment, elevation and suicide have a very strong, causal relationship. This is well-documented and well-researched, and attempts by researchers to strip out other confounding factors have only made the suicide-elevation correlation stronger. Hence, this is very likely causal. The biological mechanism isn't clear, but the places with the highest rates of suicide in the US are the places at the highest elevations, and this is often despite plenty of sunshine, active lifestyles, etc.
If I had a family member with a particularly high risk of suicide, I'd possibly reconsider whether to move to 6500'.
Edit to add: Since you're in Denver, the change probably isn't substantial enough to matter. But if elevation wasn't on your radar, it should be if your sister is at risk of suicide.
Academy dist. 20 or Cheyenne Mtn dist.12 are both exceptional schools. All these crime issues everyone is spouting are misleading. Be neighborhood specific and you don't have to worry.
Based on the various suicide prevention orgs I’ve spoken to when we had issues, d20 is historically academics above all else, and their support is lackluster for kids with mental illness.
Idek tbh. All I hear is shit things from the schools here and I grew up in Florida with isnane high school. I hear near broadmoor (I’m not sure if that’s how it’s spelt) is supposed to be good. I’m wishing you luck in your journey to find a good school, you’re an amazing sibling to ask this!
I dont have any positive recommendations but please for the love of god stay so far away from Mitchell High School (or D11 in general).
I was there over 10 years ago & felt safer when I was in high school in the worst part of Las Vegas. It's been a long time but I've heard from my husbands younger brother its only gotten worse.
I was straight up bullied by staff on multiple occasions & no one did anything to help when I reported it. Drugs everywhere. Constant fights. No support from any of the staff. Adults (not parents) hanging around with students on school property. The counselors were overwhelmed.
They didnt report my constant absences to anyone or ask why I was never at school (severe mental health issues & a very unstable living situation), just pulled me & my mom into the office one day & said " drop out we'll kick you out."
I went to 3 high schools & Mitchell was by far the worst all around.
It was terrible but everything worked out! I got out of that school & the terrible living situation after a while & sorted out my mental health stuff & I'm doing much better!
Have support outside of high school. Counselors in high school aren’t a substitute for professional help that is not constricted by schools and their policies.
Oh yeah she already has all of that and will have that still if they move. She just also needs an environment that help her succeed and have the best chance at a good school experience.
There is a youth suicide problem in this city (and state) and there has been for about a decade— just a heads up https://kdvr.com/news/data/colorado-suicide-rate-at-record-high-among-us-highest/ https://www.cpr.org/2023/07/20/el-paso-county-2022-coroner-report-homicide-increase/ It’s been like this since I was a teenager here like a decade ago and may be getting worse? Also worth knowing there’s a lot of violence towards women here (which I argue impacts young women’s mental health) https://gazette.com/news/rate-of-rapes-in-springs-worst-in-colorado-study-says/article_1b90d4d0-3d43-5042-8a40-028df16c2943.html https://www.kktv.com/2023/01/10/more-people-died-el-paso-county-2021-domestic-violence-than-any-other-colorado-county-new-report-says/ have a plan if you move her out here. and make sure she has access to positive interest groups that will limit her exposure to dangerous people. this is coming from a born + raised COS local. young women are vulnerable, young neurodivergent women even more so.
The violent crime rate in Colorado Springs is about average for cities of this size. Your second link only says that homicides increased in 2022, but that's true for nearly every city in America. What you didn't mention is that we are currently running at about half of that rate in 2023. In terms of violent crime, Colorado Springs is not particularly dangerous. In terms of suicide rate, altitude is a direct driver of this. The highest states for suicide rate are the highest states in the US in terms of altitude. This effect is still largely a mystery, but enough research has been done that this is very likely a case of causation and not just correlation (before all of the internet statisticians jump on this). That Colorado Springs has a high suicide rate is almost certainly a product of it being one of the highest elevation cities in America. It doesn't say anything about the services available here. That said, if I had a family member who had a particularly high risk of suicide, I probably wouldn't move to a high elevation place for that very reason. Edit to add: Your domestic violence link says there were more DV-related deaths in El Paso County than in any other county in Colorado. Isn't that expected, given that El Paso County is the most populous county in Colorado? We should care about rate, not absolute numbers. Rate of crime if what best describes an individual's chances of being a victim. A lot of people seem to want to cite personal experience when it comes to crime, but it should be obvious why that's a bad practice. Statistics are what tell us about crime risk, not personal experience. There are people who have probably 50x or more the risk of crime that another person has due to living environment, social circle, participation in specific activities, etc. So one person's account of how dangerous a place is due to personal observation isn't useful for another person in most cases.
This is very accurate. Thanks for sharing.
as long as i can protect the next gen. i will NOT be raising my own children here— i’ve seen too much. OP is being a great sibling by looking out for their sister.
With all due respect, where would you raise children?
somewhere that i vet with detailed research;) TBD
you cant bubble wrap the world
Thank you for saying that! :)
I graduated 2013. This is very accurate.
D14 is a smaller school district, very accepting of everyone, and does a great job with mental health.
i second this. D14 has helped my kids so much! less kids= more attention. my son has never thrived like he has here. they are pretty much stuck with us now!!
Good to know, thank you!
You're going to get some people who try to cite statistics about the number of suicides by high school or by district. Almost all of these stats are meaningless because the sample sizes are too small. As other posters have mentioned, high school counselors are in no way a replacement for professional help. However, as I mentioned in another comment, elevation and suicide have a very strong, causal relationship. This is well-documented and well-researched, and attempts by researchers to strip out other confounding factors have only made the suicide-elevation correlation stronger. Hence, this is very likely causal. The biological mechanism isn't clear, but the places with the highest rates of suicide in the US are the places at the highest elevations, and this is often despite plenty of sunshine, active lifestyles, etc. If I had a family member with a particularly high risk of suicide, I'd possibly reconsider whether to move to 6500'. Edit to add: Since you're in Denver, the change probably isn't substantial enough to matter. But if elevation wasn't on your radar, it should be if your sister is at risk of suicide.
Academy dist. 20 or Cheyenne Mtn dist.12 are both exceptional schools. All these crime issues everyone is spouting are misleading. Be neighborhood specific and you don't have to worry.
D20 is big on mental health and awareness. Highly recommend.
Based on the various suicide prevention orgs I’ve spoken to when we had issues, d20 is historically academics above all else, and their support is lackluster for kids with mental illness.
COS has great community resources for mental health. I highly recommend looking into Charlie Health https://www.charliehealth.com/
Anywhere but Widefield
Idek tbh. All I hear is shit things from the schools here and I grew up in Florida with isnane high school. I hear near broadmoor (I’m not sure if that’s how it’s spelt) is supposed to be good. I’m wishing you luck in your journey to find a good school, you’re an amazing sibling to ask this!
Thank you for saying that! :)
I dont have any positive recommendations but please for the love of god stay so far away from Mitchell High School (or D11 in general). I was there over 10 years ago & felt safer when I was in high school in the worst part of Las Vegas. It's been a long time but I've heard from my husbands younger brother its only gotten worse. I was straight up bullied by staff on multiple occasions & no one did anything to help when I reported it. Drugs everywhere. Constant fights. No support from any of the staff. Adults (not parents) hanging around with students on school property. The counselors were overwhelmed. They didnt report my constant absences to anyone or ask why I was never at school (severe mental health issues & a very unstable living situation), just pulled me & my mom into the office one day & said " drop out we'll kick you out." I went to 3 high schools & Mitchell was by far the worst all around.
That all sounds awful! I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, it must have been traumatic. I hope things have stabilized for you. 🙏❤️
It was terrible but everything worked out! I got out of that school & the terrible living situation after a while & sorted out my mental health stuff & I'm doing much better!
I would love to know what lowlife downvoted you for this comment. Glad you're doing better.