State College board approves external review after student’s death. Here are the next steps

After months of discussion, State College Area is embarking on an external review of its mental health policies and response to the death of Park Forest Middle School student Abby Smith.

Abby, a 14-year-old eighth-grade student who was known for her love of crafting, her active participation in the Girl Scouts, and as a member of her school band, died by suicide on May 12. Following allegations of bullying and questions raised about school culture, her family has been pushing for an independent review of the school district and a heightened emphasis on transparency concerning students’ welfare and communication with parents.

An internal review was completed but not released publicly. A Right-to-Know request from the CDT seeking the report was denied by the school district.

During Monday night’s meeting, the board unanimously approved the updated contract with Terri Erbacher for an external review. Erbacher, a certified school psychologist and licensed psychologist who authored “Suicide in Schools: A Practitioner’s Guide,” will conduct interviews with students, staff and administrators and review district policies around mental health and suicide response. Erbacher, who is based in Elwyn, PA, attended the meeting remotely to answer board questions.

Board member Gretchen Brandt asked if Erbacher’s review would include a psychological autopsy or investigation into the death of Abby Smith. Erbacher, who stated multiple times during the meeting that she was not familiar with the case yet, said psychological autopsies were usually requested separately by the families involved rather than conducted by an entity such as the school district. Conducted by a mental health professional, psychological autopsies look at possible stressors, sources of tension or behavior leading up to the death by suicide.

“That’s not what I do,” Erbacher said. “It’s what are our procedures, our policies and how do we fill in those cracks to make sure our programming is comprehensive. Which does include prevention, but it also includes that intervention piece. What about our screening and assessment and our postvention procedures? Because that is a piece of suicide prevention.”

Since 2021, three students in the State College Area School District have died by suicide, and during public comment, a community member asked if the review would address that history. Erbacher said she would look at previous deaths by suicide in the district, but any students who had attempted would be able to make the choice to be involved in the review procedure.

She also said she would be willing to collaborate if the district decides to conduct a future review on bullying.

During the meeting, Erbacher also confirmed that she would conduct all interviews remotely. For students who were directly affected by Abby’s death, a parent or school counselor will need to be present for any interviews, Erbacher said.

The review went to the board for a vote last week but was postponed as board members were divided over the selection process and contract details. Erbacher’s revised contract includes a new cost cap of $30,000, doubled from the previous $15,000.

Prior to voting, board president Amy Bader thanked the administration and voiced her support for the contract.

“I think this is a really delicate endeavor that we’re embarking on,” Bader said. “I’m very proud of our administration for embracing this and our community for the desire to see us improve and do better.”

Abby’s mother, Jennifer Black, restated what she hoped an external review would accomplish. Black has been one of the driving forces behind the external review since August, attending every board meeting, often with dozens of friends and community members in support.

On Monday, she handed out buttons reading “Be Kind. Love, Abby” with a butterfly in remembrance of Abby to her supporters in the crowd.

She said her goals for an external review are to learn more about the last months of her daughter’s life at school, understand the gaps in the district’s safety net and help build a safer school culture for students and staff.

“Are these lofty objectives? Yes,” Black told board members Monday. “Are they unattainable? Absolutely not. I would greatly appreciate your support of an external review that addresses or furthers these objectives.

“And while I agree time is of the essence, it is even more essential that we treat this review as more than just a box to check in our list of prevention. This review must work to further the efforts of the cultural shift we are trying to make in our schools.”

Monday night’s public comment also marked another installment of the growing divide between community members and the district in the months since Abby’s death.

A dozen members of the State College Area Education Association stood in solidarity behind the podium as SCAEA secretary Megan Kelly read a statement on behalf of the school counseling services department, following the Sept. 23 meeting in which a PFMS counselor was named during public comment in relation to Abby’s death.

“We have our own families and mental health, as in any profession,” Kelly said. “Criticizing and blaming individuals and communities with limited and nonfactual information and misconceptions is both unjust and unethical.”

Prior to public comment, Bader addressed the Sept. 23 comments and requested that those speaking during public comment refrain from mentioning district employees moving forward. Board solicitor Scott Etter said the board legally cannot prohibit anyone from speaking about district employees during public comment but can give them other avenues to voice their concerns.

“I understand that that’s not pleasant,” Etter said. “I have from time to time in my career as a solicitor had those comments directed at me, but that, unfortunately, in some respects, is what the law requires.”

Black, an educator herself, said she was hurt by the response from the SCAEA. She hadn’t intended to name the counselor but was reading an email from the district verbatim on the timeline of interactions Abby had with district personnel in April and May.

”One of the things I did was to read the list of interactions Abby had by the district, and in doing so, they felt I was badmouthing a person,” Black said. “What I was doing was showing that somewhere something went wrong, because looking at that list, you could see that action needed to be taken. So whether that was somebody’s judgment error, whether that was an error in policy or procedure, I have no idea.”

Erbacher could not give a time estimate on when the review would be completed. The board also directed Superintendent Curtis Johnson to begin looking at bringing forward a contract for an external review on bullying. Johnson has previously spoken with Bellefonte Area Superintendent Roy Rakszawski, who moved to the district from New Jersey, which has some of the nation’s strictest anti-bullying laws.

Johnson did not name the researcher who is being considered to conduct the external review on bullying.

This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 8:20 AM.