Shadle Park High School’s Hope Squad was recently named High School HOPE Squad of the Year for Eastern Washington, honoring the student-led group’s commitment to mental health awareness, suicide prevention and peer support.
The recognition marks a powerful moment for a program that has grown quickly at Shadle Park. In its first three years, the school’s Hope Squad expanded from about 10 students to nearly 80 student-nominated members.
This year, Shadle Park was selected from nine high school programs across the region for its work building connection, reducing stigma and helping students know they have somewhere to turn.
NEWESD 101’s Kirsten Fuchs attended the celebration to present the award and recognize the Highlanders for their leadership. Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program rooted in the reality that young people often confide in friends before turning to adults.
Through expert-led training, students learn they are not counselors or therapists. Instead, they are trained to recognize warning signs, listen with empathy and connect classmates with trusted adults, school staff and professional support.
One of the program’s strengths is how students are selected. Hope Squad members do not simply sign up. They are nominated by classmates who identify peers they trust, who brighten their day and who could help connect others with support. This helps each squad reflect the broader student body and reach students who may not otherwise seek help.
At Shadle Park, students have put that model into action through schoolwide efforts such as Hope Week and Hope Con. While Hope Week builds connection through mental health-centered spirit activities, Hope Con creates space for more direct conversations about depression, anxiety, suicide prevention and available resources. The student-led event was one of the reasons Shadle Park was selected for this year’s regional honor.
For the students involved, the work is deeply personal. Senior Madison Mann, who joined when the program launched at Shadle Park, told The Spokesman-Review that Hope Squad helped her become more knowledgeable and comfortable talking about mental health.
Freshman Dan Hudson told KXLY the peer-to-peer model can make support feel more genuine, while freshman Peyton Sonduk shared that Hope Squad helps students know what they are feeling is OK.
Across northeast Washington, NEWESD 101 works with regional schools and community partners to support Hope Squad implementation, training and growth. Since 2023, the program has expanded through partnerships involving Kellen Cares Foundation, Light a Lamp, Inland Northwest Behavioral Health, Fail Safe for Life and other suicide prevention organizations.
Today, hundreds of students across schools in Spokane Public Schools, Mead School District and East Valley School District are participating in Hope Squad.
The impact reaches beyond individual events. Hope Squad helps schools reduce stigma around mental health, increase connections to trusted adults and strengthen cultures of support. At Shadle Park, that work has become part of the school’s identity.
Congratulations to Shadle Park High School’s Hope Squad for leading with empathy, courage and compassion. Your work is helping create a school community where students feel seen, heard and valued.
Schools interested in learning more about bringing Hope Squad to their community can contact Kirsten Fuchs, Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Coordinator at NEWESD 101.