K-12 school leaders are increasingly confronted with unprecedented levels of student stress on campus. In addition to the steady rise in the number of students struggling with clinical mental health issues, this stress manifests in maladaptive behaviors, academic misconduct, substance abuse, and poor physical health.
This is a growing challenge for public schools—and an opportunity for meaningful change. While many of the factors contributing to student stress are beyond a school’s control,schools still have tremendous opportunity to improve the mental health and well-being of their students.
Download the complete publication or explore the table of contents for four major areas of opportunity where schools should focus their energy to have the most significant impact on student mental health and well-being.
Section 1: Expand the Student NetworkSchools can employ many tactics to better identify and reintegrate students in distress. Schools should find ways to expand the reach of counseling staff by equipping the broader school community to recognize students in distress and connect more students with needed care. Schools should also reduce barriers to accessing support and create a reintegration blueprint with clear ownership for students re-entering campus life. Read more details on page 19.
Practice 1: Faculty-Led Crisis Identification (p. 23) Practice 2: Stigma-Mitigation Strategies (p. 24) Practice 3: Student-Led Peer Support (p. 26) Practice 4: Coordinated Reentry Process (p. 28) Section 2: Deploy Time in a Student-Centric WayK-12 school leaders should consider whether their school’s mission and values are clearly embedded in the school’s schedule. Schools should maximize assessment-related time in evidence-based ways to create an environment where content mastery and deep…