1. Learning is an intrinsically social and interactive process, and social, emotional and behavioral competence is essential for all kinds of learning.
Students are most successful academically when they can manage their behavior and emotions. Positive mental health allows students to think clearly, develop socially, and learn new skills. Having supportive and nurturing relationships with peers and adults helps students develop self-esteem, confidence, and a healthy emotional perspective on life. In addition, many mental health problems are triggered and maintained by educational demands (e.g., math and test anxiety) and the school environment (e.g., bullying, which leads to school avoidance). Thus, it is appropriate to treat the issues in the environments where they occur.
2. Building capacity in schools to address the diverse needs of all students and staff is a must.
It is crucial that mental health professionals working in schools have the necessary skills to effectively integrate evidence-based practices into the school by collaborating with other school professionals, families and community-based providers. According to the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce, the U.S. has a lack of trained mental health professionals. Beyond school-based providers, a wide gap exists between the number of mental health providers (approximately 700,000) and the number of individuals needing mental health services (approximately 75 million). Even if the numbers of providers doubled, it would not be sufficient to produce a notable effect for individuals in need. In addition, mental health providers are unequally distributed geographically, with higher numbers in lower need areas.
3. Comprehensive school-based mental health systems provide an array of supports and services designed to promote positive school climate, social and emotional learning, and mental and physical wellness.
It is the collective responsibility of educators, community mental health providers and families to share the common goal of building a wide set of skills that enable students to be productive citizens and live a life of quality. Such a comprehensive effort cannot be initiated and sustained solely by schools. As a result, partnerships need to be established between schools, families, and community agencies to offer a full continuum of effective mental health promotion, early intervention, and treatment services for our children and youth. It is critically important to engage families in meaningful ways. To do that, school professionals need to acknowledge parents’ values and priorities and treat them as equal partners by recognizing their role as experts on their children and thus, relying on their input when developing and implementing supports for students. Not only do we need to support students, we also need to encourage families by providing them with a range of strategies they can utilize to help their children.
In addition, schools have the unique advantage of engaging students to serve as mentors and advocates for their peers with mental health needs, thus strengthening the students’ prosocial network of support, and normalizing mental health.
From NJDOE Mental Health Guide 2022. Click here to access the full guide >>
DID YOU KNOW?
Nationwide, New Jersey stands out for taking a step in the right direction on well-being checks. In 2021, NJ created a $1M Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant program that provides funds for schools to administer annual depression screening for students in grades 7-12. Well-being checks are important to help identify students who may be struggling.
