‘Tsunami of support’ as schools consider mental health
“We can celebrate all these great things, but every data point is a child suffering.”
School administrators, faced with some troubling results from a survey of middle school and high school students, are redoubling efforts to support youth mental health.
As they eyed new ways to help at an October 8 meeting, school administrators and School Committee members highlighted existing programs that they described as positive steps to improving student mental health.
“We’re really proud of all this, and there’s still work to be done,” said Superintendent Laurie Hunter. “We can celebrate all these great things, but every data point is a child suffering.”
School Committee member Alexa Anderson said there was “a tsunami of support” for students. She said “tangible and statistically relevant” gains for students show the funds that pay for various support programs is money well spent.
At Acton Middle School, the district uses DESSA, a monitoring tool that feeds staff data in real time.
The school has also partnered with the Playbook Initiative, a student-led program that addresses bullying and includes several scenarios involving race, disability, gender, orientation, and religion.
At Acton-Carlisle High School, Guidance Department chair Alison Nowicki and her colleague Dan Simone have been trained in the youth mental health first aid curriculum. A professional development day on the topic is tentatively scheduled for January.
Along with speakers and workshops, the high school offers health and fitness classes to teach kids about brain science and reduce the stigma of mental health struggles and asking for help.
Guidance and counseling staff are offering grade-level seminars. The school has also implemented monthly no-homework weekends as well as flex blocks during which students can get extra help from teachers, work with classmates, or spend time in the school library, band rooms, or gym, among other options.
The district works with Cartwheel Care, which provides immediate short-term counseling to students and staff and provides referrals for further therapy if indicated.
“We’re just going to keep doing anything and everything to try to identify those kids and open up the discussion of mental wellness, so kids feel like they can talk and get help,” Hunter told The Acton Bridge.
“It’s a huge priority of ours, and that won’t stop.”
