Promoting Mental Health for All
A current issues program co-sponsored by WPSBA and PNW BOCES
October 10, 2019 (World Mental Health Day)
A big thank you to the Culinary Arts students of PNW BOCES who cooked and served a delicious meal at Tilly Foster Farm in Putnam county.
Dr. Andrew Ecker, the Coordinator of Guidance and the Child Study Center at PNW BOCES kicked off the program by discussing how the focus of the evening was to look for “bright spots” in ensuring student mental health, so as not to be bogged down by the overwhelming statistics of student anxiety, addiction, and need for mental health services.
Panelists talked about the introduction and implementation of various “bright spot” student mental health programs in their districts:
- Scott Levy, Byram Hills Board of Education President, discussed Challenge Success and RULER: Both programs focus on creating a framework for preventing stress and anxiety in students and faculty based on the specific needs of the school community. Challenge Success works with high performing middle and high schools to reduce the stress of the school environment while maintaining a high level of academic rigor. RULER focuses on ensuring the school system is set up to account for mental health impacts and work with adults to learn how to model best practices.
- Dr. Ray Sanchez, Superintendent of Ossining UFSD, discussed the Community Schools Model: The schools in Ossining have become a hub for services for students and their families. The model has evolved with the needs of the community and the students, but focuses on taking care of the adults, who can then take care of the children.
- Dr. MaryAnn Seelke, Principal of Haldane Middle School, discussed Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Dr. Seelke began with a mindfulness exercise common to the start of class in a DBT environment – ensuring that participants are mentally in the right place to learn and perform effectively. Students and faculty are taught descriptive words to explain their emotions, in order to better regulate their emotional state. Faculty are trained to identify students who need additional intensive supports.
- Susan Howard, Principal of Briarcliff Middle School, discussed Mental Health First Aid: As teachers are frequently on the front lines of student mental health crises, faculty learned both how to distinguish between crisis moments and normal teenage angst, and how best to respond to students who may be in crisis. Mental Health First Aid involves an 8 hour training session and a valuable resource book for adults who undertake the certification course.
