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Johnson County teens lead the way in preventing suicide

Johnson County schools have found success in a suicide prevention effort where teenagers help each other through mental health problems. Plus, the families of students in the Independence School District say they're frustrated by a lack of transparency.

Four years after Johnson County school superintendents started a program to prevent teen suicides, students say it’s actually helping. As KCUR’s Laura Ziegler reports, Zero Reasons Why began after a rise in teen suicides has already contributed to a decline in suicides and an increase in young people reaching out for help.

Families of students in the Independence School District have been frustrated by what they say is a lack of transparency from their school board. As KCUR’s Jodi Fortino reports, those concerns are bubbling over as Independence considers switching to a four-day school week.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
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