Most local school policies mirror the state's guidelines.Įxperts say it's an issue many schools started grappling with individually over the past five years. State statute gives schools the power to discipline students, including by suspension or expulsion, but does not require emotional supports in those situations. "But if we do nothing and this happens to another family. "We can’t do anything to change this with Patrick," Chris McCalley said. Weeks after what would have been Patrick's graduation day, the McCalleys are sharing their story to start a conversation about how schools can better balance mental health and discipline. What prompted Patrick to take his own life? His family said he was a happy teen who avoided trouble and excelled at school.Īnd there is another unanswerable question on their minds: Was there something - anything - the school could have or should have done differently that might have altered what happened that day and prevent it from ever happening again? that day.īut there's a lot they will likely never know. They know that before 3:36 p.m., about half an hour after being escorted out of the building, Patrick decided to kill himself. He was declared dead by suicide in the hospital at 5:07 p.m. He signed an affidavit the school gave him, apologizing and calling it a “stupid and ignorant joke." They know sometime around noon he was called to the assistant principal’s office and told he'd be suspended over a “racially insensitive” Snapchat he sent a few friends that trivialized lynching. 6, 2016, excited about an email from the Air Force, an option he was considering after graduation. They know that Patrick, then a junior at Carmel High School, left for school Oct. One year and eight months later, Chris and Marilyn McCalley are still haunted by the final hours of their 17-year-old son's life. Click here to learn more about finding help.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or the National Teen Suicide Hotline at 800-SUICIDE (784-2433).
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts you can call the U.S. View Gallery: Carmel family remembers their son, Patrick McCalley after 2016 suicideĮditor's note: This story contains discussion of suicide.