Action needed, not blame: Rockford school superintendent calls on community to help prevent youth suicide

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rockford Public Schools Superintendent Ehren Jarrett encouraged the community to take responsibility and action to prevent youth suicide after 11-year-old Jalyah Thompson took her own life on Friday.

According to a post on a GoFundMe, Jalyah’s grandmother indicated the Eisenhower Middle School student suffered from bullying.

“Heartbroken, we want others to know that with more kindness and less bullying, Jalyah would still be with us today,” her grandmother, Arlain Thompson, wrote.

Taking questions from reporters on Monday, Jarrett said, “I know a lot of people are hurting and looking for someone to blame, but I want to assure the community that we are doing a very thorough investigation to find out what the facts are.”

“Any time a situation like this happens, we want to go to blame first,” he said. “I understand that people are angry. I am sad and I am angry that this happened to such a young child … We will be very limited with what we can accomplish with finger-pointing, and we will be much more successful when we come together to see what we can do to prevent future tragedy.”

Jarrett acknowledged the allegations of bullying at Eisenhower but said he was unable to confirm those details, citing the ongoing investigation. He also would not discuss any potential disciplinary outcomes of the investigation.

He did say that Rockford Police were also conducting an investigation, in addition to providing security at the school.

“A school system by itself is only as good as those partnerships with families and parents and the community,” he said. “We all are culpable together … We also have to address the fact that we want to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.”

“The more we spend time pointing fingers and deciding whose fault it is, the more, I think, we will be delayed in being successful and improving,” he said.

He encouraged students to speak with trusted faculty members if they feel unsafe and said parents need to spend more time with their children and talk about issues that they encounter at school.

“While Rockford Public Schools invests nearly $30 million annually in social-emotional support across our schools, we recognize that this is just the beginning. True change requires a collective effort, and we know that with the support of our community partners, we can do even more to ensure every child feels seen, supported, and valued,” he said in a letter to parents sent on Tuesday.