Subject: Service for Alex Modlin
Comments:
Benjamin Franklin Middle School
Ridgewood Public Schools
335 N. Van Dien Ave.
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
“In the light of knowledge shines the key to the future.”
Anthony Orsini
(201) 670-2780
Principal aorsini@ridgewood.k12.nj.us
April 26, 2016
Dear BF Community,
I know there have been many questions regarding the services for Alex Modlin tomorrow. In conversation with the family and Rabbi William Kraus they have decided to hold a service specifically for students, staff, and families who were planning on attending the funeral.
The service is as follows:
Wednesday, April 27th at 10 A.M.
Louis Suburban Chapel, 13-01 Broadway (Route 4 West)
Fair Lawn, NJ, 07410
The service will last approximately 40 minutes, and Rabbi Kraus will be addressing the issue of suicide directly during the service. The family has indicated that it would be appropriate to leave a note for Alex or a remembrance such as a toy, but your presence is appreciation enough.
At the middle school age it is essential that a parent is able to accompany students to the services in order to help them process after the funeral. Several faculty members will be present at the services for the students as well.
Staff will be back at school following the service. The internment will be exclusively for family.
Our hearts are with your families.
Sincerely,
Tony Orsini
Principal, BFMS
So sorry for this family and their friends and community. Talk to your kids. Nobody is immune.
I love the idea of leaving a note for him.
“Internment” from a school principal? INTERMENT.
Noticed that too, 8:05pm. Chalked it up to a tough week for the old boy…
Cut the princpal a break, a boy just died..get some perspective.
My heart is very heavy for the pain this young boy carried. Thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, classmates, teachers, school & community. The Rabbi did a wonderful job talking to his peers. Love your children, hug them, listen to them and be there for them. Rest in Peace Alex xo
BF has a history of squarely addressing the issue of teen suicide. Six years ago in the wake of the Clementi suicide BF hosted the following presentation (as mentioned on this blog on 10/4/2010). The Ridgewood district should probably host another such event at some point soon:
THIS Wednesday, October 6, [2010] 7:30 p.m., Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium, 335 North Van Dien Avenue.
Parents, staff and adult community members are invited to this important presentation, given by Scott Fritz and Maureen Underwood of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide. Scott Fritz is a father who lost a child to suicide, and a founder of the society. Maureen Underwood is a clinical social worker and nationally recognized expert in youth suicide prevention.This presentation is for adults only and will include an opportunity for questions.
For more information contact Dr. Fishbein’s office at (201) 670-2700, ext. 10530. Information about the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide can be found at http://www.sptsnj.org .
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By admin|October 4th, 2010|Uncategorized|0 Comments
MISSION
The mission of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide is to reduce the number of youth suicides and attempted suicides by encouraging public awareness through the development and promotion of educational training programs.
History
The Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide was founded in 2005 by two friends who lost teenaged children to suicide. After their losses, the men were shocked to learn that suicide was the third leading cause of death for America’s youth and were determined to do whatever they could to protect other families from the devastation of suicide. Several of their close friends and golf buddies including Todd Cohen, Jerry Grasso, Tom Lanning, and Bob Agel helped them form the organization and joined the Board of Directors. They recruited Maureen Underwood a Clinical Social Worker and nationally recognized expert in youth suicide prevention and Jeannine Grasso, Principal of Roselle Park Middle School in Roselle Park, New Jersey to their board. The combination of business savvy and knowledge of evidence-based mental health practices enables SPTS to work quickly, efficiently, and decisively to develop and implement youth suicide prevention programs at both the state and national level.
After learning there was no requirement for teachers in their home state of New Jersey to receive formal training in suicide prevention, the board made it their mission to have legislation passed in New Jersey requiring all educators to complete at least two hours of instruction in suicide prevention as part of their professional development requirement. The successful passage of this legislation in 2007 made New Jersey the first state in the county to require such training.
In addition to seeing the legislation passed, Maureen helped to develop the actual training program.Making Educators Partners in Youth Suicide Prevention is a user-friendly, free online course that has been approved for Best Practices by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and has received praise from over 100,000 educators throughout the United States who have completed the course. SPTS has developed and presented in person presentations to over 7,500 additional educators across the country. Assuming that most of these educators has direct contact with at least 25 students, over 2.5 million students may have been impacted by the positive lessons these educators have received about identifying and reaching out to students at potential suicide risk.
Seeing the need to address these issues with parents as well, SPTS produced a 17 minute video, Not My Kid: What Every Parent Should Know About Youth Suicide. The video is available at no cost on the organization’s website and gives parents tips to recognize the signs of a teen who may be in trouble and then models how to address those issues appropriately. The video has been viewed on the website over 25,000 times and another 15,000 hard copies have been distributed to schools, church groups, Parent Teacher organizations.
The core values that define SPTS and its founding board are:
MISSION
Passionate commitment to the value of life
Belief in the effectiveness of evidence -based suicide prevention strategies
Dedication to removing public stigma about suicide
Conviction that accurate information and education about suicide can save lives
Learn about how you can get involved and how you can help.
“Not My Kid” (video)
Every concerned Ridgewood parent should click this link (or cut and paste into their internet browser) and watch the associated video when they have the opportunity:
https://www.sptsusa.org/not-my-kid/
New Jersey parents, it turns out, were at the cutting edge of this issue about the year 2006 and have apparently since moved from a New Jersey-centric approach to a nationwide scope.
Some great parent questions are addressed in this video, including “Shouldn’t we just be quiet about what happened so as to avoid putting ideas in our children’s heads?” and “My child’s classmate just committed suicide. How much more is he/she now at risk of doing the same thing?”.
We tragically lost Alex Modlin but now is no time to put our heads in the sand about the perennial problem of depression and teen suicide.