Beyond the loss: How Minnesota schools are trying to prevent the next student suicide

“It’s hard to describe how you feel.”

“I miss everything about him.”

Parents who’ve lost teens to suicide mourn not only the child lost, but the adult that child almost was.

According to the most recent Minnesota Student Survey, nearly 10% of eighth, ninth and 11th graders have experienced suicidal ideation, and 5.5% considered taking their lives in the last year.

“I think the most tragic thing is (if) we don’t learn from it, and I think we’re seeing this across the board,” said Chip Rankin, superintendent of the Brainerd Public Schools. “We’re learning our l...