Speak Up at School: Overview
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Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide (Version 3)
The Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide developed in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association provides a complete set of educational tools to increase understanding of mental health and mental disorders among both students and teachers. The guide focuses on training teachers to be comfortable with their own knowledge of mental health and mental disorders, and then empowers the teachers to share this knowledge with their students through a curriculum delivered in a multiple module format. The program uses a variety of interactive sessions that help to promote dialogue among students, as well as with their teachers. Discussing mental health and mental illness in a supportive, familiar environment enables youth to feel safe, ask questions, gain knowledge, combat stigma and develop their own opinions of the world around them. The teachers training materials are provided for free, and many of the other materials are incorporated into this curriculum site.
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Brain Development in Children
This video emphasizes the critical period for brain growth from birth to age 5 and how experiences like nutrition, learning, and social interactions shape the brain. Trauma, such as abuse or neglect, can cause lasting effects by altering brain structure and strengthening negative connections.
What is Empathy?
This animated video illustrates the concept of empathy. Dr Brené Brown reminds us that we can only create a genuine empathic connection if we are brave enough to really get in touch with our own fragilities.
Modeling and Instruction – Social & Emotional Learning Initiating Playlist
Schools play an important role in supporting young people’s social and emotional development. Districts and schools engage in many different practices to grow and develop students’ and staff members’ social and emotional competencies to help them be successful. Broad areas of social and emotional competence are: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
The resources in this learning playlist focus on SEL instruction and modeling and are recommended for schools or districts starting in this work. Your school or district may be exploring this work and wondering where to begin.
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Ways to Communicate High Expectations to Students
This article provides an understanding of why communicating high expectations to students is important. Effective communication is key to conveying high expectations to students. It requires a clear approach that acknowledges their capabilities, sets achievable goals, and fosters a growth mindset. As educators, it is essential to strike the right balance between high expectations and support, ensuring students feel motivated and empowered to reach their full potential. The accompanying form from Cultures Connecting provides a list of ideas. Choose one that is a new strategy you can realistically implement.
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How to Build Students’ Resilience
As educators, we talk a lot about resilience—how students need it to bounce back from challenges, grit their teeth, and persevere. But what if resilience isn’t just about bouncing back? What if it’s about bouncing forward, adapting, thriving, and growing stronger with each setback? The good news is that resilience isn’t some mystical trait. It’s a skill—a muscle, if you will—that we can strengthen in our students. The strategies we utilize in the classroom are the ultimate training ground. Teachers can use these strategies to strengthen their students’ ability to cope with setbacks and frustration.
We Need Trauma Informed Work Places
The past several years have been incredibly turbulent, as we’ve faced Covid, racial violence, political upheaval, environmental disasters, war, and more. Anxiety and depression have skyrocketed. Organizations have had to confront issues they never expected and find new ways to support their employees through repeated traumatic experiences. The reality, though, is that trauma is not new in our organizations. It’s not going away, either. Estimates are that six in 10 men and five in 10 women experience at least one trauma, and approximately 6% of the population will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. As we’ve seen the lines between work and home blur and a fundamental shift in our expectations of the places we work, organizations have struggled to provide the support and leadership their employees need. That’s why it’s so important to take steps now to build the cultures that can see them through current and future crises. To do that, we need to build trauma-informed organizations.
30 Days of Mental Health in the School Year
Understanding the A-B-Cs of mental health and illness is the first step to improving outcomes. Educators, parents, and caregivers can pledge to engage in 30 days of child and youth mental health during the academic year. Schools can be the place where we destigmatize mental illness and teach children and youth how to foster mental health. The goals of 30 Days of Mental Health campaign are:
To keep students’ mental health at the forefront of our minds throughout the academic year.
To remind educators, parents, and caregivers that recovery from trauma takes time.
To ensure that educators, parents, and caregivers have the knowledge and tools to promote positive mental health.
Mental Health in Schools
One in six U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year, and half of all mental health conditions begin by age 14. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavior problems, anxiety, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children. Yet, about half of youth with mental health conditions received any kind of treatment in the past year. NAMI believes that public policies and practices should promote greater awareness and early identification of mental health conditions. NAMI supports public policies and laws that enable all schools, public and private, to increase access to appropriate mental health services. Check out these websites and resources to promote and support mental health in schools.