Mental Health Wellness is a Priority in Our Schools
On August 31, 2016, National Public Radio launched “The Mental Health Crisis in
Schools,” a month-long special series reporting on the depth and breadth of
student mental health disorders and how they affect schools and learning. For
many, this series was an important introduction to a complex topic that has
been long-appreciated by those who work in public education.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) also
recognizes the growing need for additional supports and resources for schools to
help address mental health wellness. A list of resources can be found on their
webpage, Mental Health and Schools, at the following link:
http://www.k12.wa.us/MentalHealthandSchools/default.aspx.
As these issues continue to gain nationwide attention, we have been asked
what local supports are available, how our schools are addressing mental health
concerns, and how families can help. We hope you find the following information
regarding staffing, partnerships, professional development, and curriculum
helpful.
Staffing
We've hired additional counselors at the secondary and elementary
levels. Each elementary school has a least one counselor, some of who are also psychologists. Each school has a psychologist available for services. The middle school has one counselor and one psychologist. The high school has three counselors and one psychologist, one who primarily works with special education and IEP students. Counselors focus on three
essential components – academic, career, and social emotional development. Additionally, we also have a School-Based Mental Health Therapist who works with all the schools, who in turn, has three graduate school students who are assigned to specific schools.
Partnerships
We work with several community partners to facilitate our students'
access to resources available in the community. These partnerships include:
- Palouse River Counseling provides individual support
and programming for students and families based on a wraparound philosophy
of care.
Professional
Development Course Offerings and Presentations
Our staff, including teachers and paraeducators, receives directed and
self-directed trainings. Training topics are based on staff surveys designed
for noting needs and preferences. In the past two years, some of these learning
opportunities have included:
- Social-Emotional Learning – Practices and strategies to help students
build awareness and skills managing emotions, setting goals, establishing
relationships, and making responsible decisions
- Differentiated Instruction - Practices and strategies for meeting the
needs of different learners through varying content, process, and product
- Mental and Physical Health – Practical tips and information to support
students with mental & physical health struggles including depression,
suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, addiction, anxiety and other areas.
- Various speakers covering topics such as:
- Autism
- Social
Emotional Learning
- Anxiety
Curriculum
Using our curriculum adoption process, we are moving toward adoption of
a Social Emotional curriculum for next year.
- Second Step™ – Social Emotional Curriculum for K-5
School Policies & Procedures
Committees
Additional
Information
OSPI describes social-emotional learning (SEL) as:
“When we think of educating the whole child, their social
and emotional development must be considered as a part of overall instruction.
SEL is broadly understood as a process through which individuals build
awareness and skills in managing emotions, setting goals, establishing
relationships, and making responsible decisions that support success in school
and in life.”
All of our students receive social and emotional education using
age-appropriate curriculum. In addition, because each student has unique needs,
we have many other resources available to our teachers for use on a case by
case basis to best serve their students' needs.
If you have any questions about our social emotional learning curriculum
and resources, or about our dedication to mental health wellness supports,
please contact Cristina Johnson, Director of Special Services at [email protected].
If you think your student may benefit from additional SEL or mental
health supports, we encourage you to reach out to the counselor at your
student's school.
Resources