The Journal Entry, the Friday Afternoon, and the Coaching Role
You are an eighth grade health teacher and also the assistant girls' soccer coach. A student writes in a private journal entry - submitted as a class assignment with the instruction that entries stay between student and teacher unless someone is in danger - that she has been cutting her thighs 'to feel something' for about two months, that she has a plan to 'end it' but 'not yet,' and that she is begging you not to tell anyone. She says her parents will 'freak out' and that a counselor told her last year 'it was just a phase.' The school counselor is on maternity leave; a counseling intern is on site Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is Friday at 2:15 p.m. The student has practice after school. State law makes teachers mandated reporters for suspected abuse and neglect; district policy requires notifying an administrator and a parent of any suicide risk. Your principal is in a meeting until 3:00.
1. What do you do in the next 45 minutes? List your actions in order and explain the reasoning for each.
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- Do not promise secrecy. I would say, 'I am glad you told me, and I cannot keep this private because I need to keep you safe.'
- Ask directly about suicidal thoughts, plan, means, and timeline. Asking does not plant the idea, and I need to know whether this is imminent risk.
- Do not leave her alone. I would keep her with me or send her with a trusted adult to the office.
- Contact the principal or designee now. A meeting until 3:00 is not a reason to wait; I would call, text, or go to the office.
- Reach the counseling intern by phone for consultation and documentation.
- Follow the district parent-notification policy, and if the home is unsafe or the parent refuses to act, escalate to child protective services.
- Document factually and verbatim what was said and what was done.
Reasoning: a plan and a timeline make this urgent. The 45 minutes is about supervision, consultation, and handoff, not about deciding whether to act.
2. Analyze the confidentiality limits here: what can you keep private, what must be shared, and with whom?
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The journal was submitted with a confidentiality expectation, but that expectation has limits that I should have explained in advance and must explain now. I can keep the content private from peers, other teachers, and my coaching role. I must share the minimum necessary with the administrator, the counseling intern, and the parent: that there is a suicide risk, that there is a plan, and that supervision and means restriction are needed. I should not share the full journal text, the cutting details, or the student's words with the team, staff lounge, or other students. On mandated reporting: self-harm alone may not meet the legal threshold for abuse or neglect, but suicide risk triggers district policy, and if the parent refuses to act or the home is unsafe, I must report. I would tell the student what will be shared and why, so the disclosure is not a betrayal. The test is need-to-know, not comfort.
3. What is your role after the immediate safety plan - as teacher, as coach, and as the adult she trusted?
Read the worked answer
As teacher, I would keep class predictable, avoid calling on her about the journal, provide a private check-in, and allow a pass to the counselor without drawing attention. I would grade the journal normally or excuse it, not use it as a lesson. As coach, I am not her therapist; I would keep the same coaching standards and avoid making practice a therapy session or isolating her from teammates. I can be a steady adult, but I cannot be the sole support. I would coordinate with the counselor on a re-entry plan and a safety plan, and if she is hospitalized, welcome her back without a public explanation. I would document check-ins and set boundaries for myself. Trust is preserved by being honest and consistent, not by secrecy. I would also ask the counselor to help me debrief, because this kind of disclosure affects the adult too.