Trigger warning: This story mentions suicide. Call or text 988 for support if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
A small slip of paper sits on the corner of Palo Alto resident and parent Mare Lucas’ desk. The handwriting is uneven and messy — it belongs to a student, thanking Lucas for speaking up about mental health at a school board meeting. Eight years after losing her son to suicide, the fight to protect other students has not gotten easier, but the note reminds her why her work is important.
Although students at MVHS and other Bay Area schools often discuss academic pressure, they rarely discuss the toll this pressure takes on their mental health. Gunn High School alum ‘25 Kiyon Zebarjadi, who both saw and experienced these impacts at GHS, says this issue and the consequences are rarely talked about in-depth…