# data[].attributes.body
-Educators face the simple fact that, often because of a lack of resources, there just aren't enough people to tackle the job
-Teachers already have a ton on their plates. They're pressured to get test scores up, on top of preparing lessons and grading assignments. Plus, many teachers receive minimal training in mental health issues. https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/08/31/464727159/mental-health-in-schools-a-hidden-crisis-affecting-millions-of-students

# data[].attributes.body
-One in five children children have a mental disorder, which adds up to over 14 million.https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/20/459843929/heres-how-schools-can-support-students-mental-health
-Of these children, over 80% of them do not have access to mental health services
-Whether treated or not, the children do go to school. And the problems they face can tie into major problems found in schools: chronic absence, low achievement, disruptive behavior and dropping out.
Experts say schools could play a role in identifying students with problems and helping them succeed. Yet it's a role many schools are not prepared for.
-And yet, as we've been reporting this month, many schools aren't prepared to work with these students. Often, there's been too little training in recognizing the problems, the staff who are trained are overworked, and there just isn't enough money.

# data[].attributes.body
-The results suggest that salutary results can be realized as a result of very brief intervention with youths around the topic of mental health awareness.
-The findings suggest that the at-risk students in an after-school program in a middle school setting could make statistically significant gains in their knowledge of and attitudes toward mental health and stigma as a consequence of a minimal degree of intervention. This statement suggests that there is promise in developing peer-led models of mental health awareness.
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=35e5fb25-b547-4ca2-b9f5-f86408a361a8%40sessionmgr103
-New York mental health experts recognized that earlier intervention could result in more positive outcomes for these students. https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/importance-mental-health-awareness-schools

# data[].attributes.body
In order to help the mental health epidemic, schools should include mental health in their already existing curriculum. This way, students become more educated on mental health and the stigmas surrounding mental health are lessened.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Connecticut consultation program that Yale studied follows specific guidelines as laid out by the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. However, experts agree that whenever educators collaborate with mental-health professionals to support students with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, whether it's a consultation program or on-the-ground mental-health professionals, the outcome results in more well-adjusted students.

Michael Rosenblum, a fourth-grade teacher at the private McLean School in Potomac, Maryland, has seen the success of this approach in action. The school is in part targeted to students who have learning differences including ADHD, dyslexia, and anxiety, which can make just getting through the school day difficult. Although the school does not use the same mental-health consultation program that Connecticut has adopted, through working closely with on-site mental-health professionals, teachers are able to help their students reach their greatest potential.

"We've had students that come to McLean in third, fourth, fifth grade that basically have been told by educators that they will not be able to graduate from high school and that they are not capable of going to a college," said Frankie Engelking, McLean's director of student and community wellness. "Those exact students come to us, are very successful academically, grow emotionally, build confidence, graduate from McLean, go on to four-year programs, and have very meaningful lives and careers."

It's through McLean's comprehensive approach to mental health, which gives children coping strategies rather than punishing them for poor behavior, that allows children to succeed. Teachers are encouraged to give equal importance to teaching skills like kindness, communication, and building strong relationships as teaching subjects like math and science. Using approaches and curricula such as Responsive Classroom and Second Step, educators are able to weave activities that promote mental wellness into daily classroom activity.

"From a teacher's point of view, being in a type of environment where administration, from Frankie and from others-just having the support to make issues of mental health, and stress, and anxiety a priority-is really important," Rosenblum said. "We're really empowered to try these different strategies, and it works wonders with these kids."

While McLean's students don't take any standardized tests, making it difficult to empirically assess the impact of the school's mental-health focus on their achievement, Rosenblum sees the McLean School's success in his students' increased confidence and excitement to participate in class. As students progress through McLean, Rosenblum said, many begin to advocate for themselves more often and learn to cope with anxieties and stressors that were once debilitating to their learning experience. And most students make progress on reading as evaluated at the beginning and end of the school year-a sign that the school's model is effective considering many students enroll at below grade level.

McLean School's approach, however, is not something that all children and their parents can afford to experience. The school does offer financial aid, but without assistance the price tag for kindergarten enrollment is upwards of $30,000 - and tuition only increases as students get older. This reinforces the need for programs like Connecticut's statewide model that provide mental-health resources for all children, not just those with the means to afford it.

This story is part of our Next America: Early Childhood project, which is supported by grants from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

Emily Goldberg is a former editorial fellow at The Atlantic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mental Health Is Not Just an Adult Problem

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Connecticut consultation program that Yale studied follows specific guidelines as laid out by the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. However, experts agree that whenever educators collaborate with mental-health professionals to support students with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, whether it's a consultation program or on-the-ground mental-health professionals, the outcome results in more well-adjusted students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mental health awareness is an important issue for all educators, who are often the first line of defense for their students. Education professionals have recognized the impact that a student's mental health has on learning and achievement, and they realize that there's a great deal that can be done to help students with mental health issues. As a high school teacher with more than 23 years of experience, I welcome the fact that mental health awareness is finally becoming an important part of a school's function and curriculum.

Seeing the Signs in My Student

A few years ago, a student in my senior class changed drastically in a short period of time. I noticed that Melina no longer did her homework, and she didn't even try on her essays. Previously meticulous in her appearance, Melina would come to school disheveled, wearing the same clothes. When I tried to speak to her, she was uncharacteristically distant and withdrawn. Because I had some training in mental health awareness, I knew Melina was in some sort of trouble.

Ad

Luckily, my school had social workers on staff who could speak to Melina and assess her issues. They discovered that Melina was depressed and suicidal, and she needed an immediate psychiatric intervention. Melina was hospitalized for a period of time, but she was able to return to my classroom a few months later. With the help of medication and therapy, she managed to graduate with her class.

Understanding the Impact

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that one in five people live with some sort of mental disorder or disease. Despite the fact that the average age of early signs of mental illness is 14, most individuals don't seek help until adulthood. Underlining the seriousness is the fact that 60 percent of high school students with mental illness don't graduate.

New York mental health experts recognized that earlier intervention could result in more positive outcomes for these students. Beginning in July 2018, New York will be the first state in the nation to require mental health education for all students. The overall mission of New York's School Mental Health (SMH) program is to promote healthy social, emotional, and behavioral development of students, and "break down barriers to learning so the general well-being of students, families, and school staff can be enhanced in collaboration with other comprehensive student support and services."

The SMH program supports the emotional health and academic growth of all students with the following:

Integrating comprehensive services and support throughout every grade level

Assessing mental health needs through universal, selective, and targeted interventions

Providing access to behavioral and mental health services and programs

Leveraging higher-level personnel, such as those working with the Department of Education, for necessary support and services

Building collaborative relationships between the school and students' families and communities

Spreading Awareness Across the Nation

Until mental health education is a mandatory aspect of all schools, teachers and administrators can work to promote awareness with their students. Key elements to shine a light on include the concept of self-care and responsibility for one's own mental health and wellness, with an emphasis on the fact that mental health is an integral part of health, and the concept of recovery from mental illness.

Teachers and students should be provided with ways to recognize signs of developing mental health problems, and there should be opportunities around the awareness and management of mental health crises, including the risk of suicide or self-harm. Further, instruction should address the relationship between mental health, substance abuse, and other negative coping behaviors, as well as the negative impact of stigma and cultural attitudes toward mental illness.

Read this next

Learn more ›

Because teens spend most of their day at school, it just makes sense to have mental health awareness and education become part of the curriculum. When we empower students with knowledge, and encourage dialogue, students will be able to get the help they need.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Importance of Mental Health Awareness in Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mental health awareness is an important issue for all educators, who are often the first line of defense for their students. Education professionals have recognized the impact that a student's mental health has on learning and achievement, and they realize that there's a great deal that can be done to help students with mental health issues.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Part One in an NPR Ed series on mental health in schools.
You might call it a silent epidemic.

Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year.

So in a school classroom of 25 students, five of them may be struggling with the same issues many adults deal with: depression, anxiety, substance abuse.

And yet most children - nearly 80 percent - who need mental health services won't get them.

Whether treated or not, the children do go to school. And the problems they face can tie into major problems found in schools: chronic absence, low achievement, disruptive behavior and dropping out.

Experts say schools could play a role in identifying students with problems and helping them succeed. Yet it's a role many schools are not prepared for.

Educators face the simple fact that, often because of a lack of resources, there just aren't enough people to tackle the job. And the ones who are working on it are often drowning in huge caseloads. Kids in need can fall through the cracks.
"No one ever asked me"
Katie is one of those kids.

She's 18 now. Back when she was 8, she had to transfer to a different school in Prince George's County, Md., in the middle of the year.

"At recess, I didn't have friends to play with," she recalls. "I would make an excuse to stay inside with the teachers and finish extra work or do extra credit."

We're not using Katie's last name to protect her privacy. She's been diagnosed with bulimia and depression.

She says that in the span of a few months, she went from honor roll to failing. She put on weight; other kids called her "fat." She began cutting herself with a razor every day. And she missed a ton of school.

"I felt like every single day was a bad day," she says. "I felt like nobody wanted to help me."

Katie says teachers acted like she didn't care about her schoolwork. "I was so invisible to them."

Every year of high school, she says, was "horrible." She told her therapist she wanted to die and was admitted into the hospital.

During all this time, she says, not a single principal or teacher or counselor ever asked her one simple question: "What's wrong?"

If someone had asked, she says, she would have told them.
Who should have asked?
We talked to educators, advocates, teachers and parents across the country. Here's what they say a comprehensive approach to mental health and education would look like.
The family
The role: The first place to spot trouble is in the home, whether that trouble is substance abuse, slipping grades or a child who sleeps too much. Adults at home - parents, siblings, other relatives - are often the first to notice something going on.

The reality: Many families do not know what to look for. Sometimes a serious problem can be overlooked as "just a phase." But it's those sudden changes - angry outbursts, declining grades, changes in sleeping or eating - that can signal problems. When something unusual crops up, families can keep in close touch with the school.
The teacher
The role: During the week, many students see their teachers even more than their own families. Teachers are in a prime spot to notice changes in behavior. They read essays, see how students relate with other kids and notice when they aren't paying attention.

The reality: Teachers already have a ton on their plates. They're pressured to get test scores up, on top of preparing lessons and grading assignments. Plus, many teachers receive minimal training in mental health issues. But when they do see something concerning, they can raise a flag.
The social worker
The role: Social workers act like a bridge. If teachers come to them with a concern - maybe a child is acting withdrawn - one of the first things they'll do is call home. They see each child through the lens of their family, school and community. They might learn that a family is going through a divorce or homelessness.

The reality: There aren't enough of them. According to one model, every school should have one social worker for every 250 students. The reality is that in some schools, social workers are responsible for many more.
The counselor
The role: In some schools, counselors focus solely on academics: helping students pick classes and apply to college. But in others, they also act a lot like social workers, serving as a link to families and working with students who need support.

The reality: Like school social workers, there just aren't enough counselors. On average nationwide, each counselor is responsible for nearly 500 students. The American School Counselor Association recommends a caseload nearly half that size.
The special education teacher
The Role: Special education teachers may start working with students when a mental health problem affects the ability to do school work. They are primarily responsible for working on academic skills.

The reality: Again, there aren't enough of them. Nearly every state has reported a shortage of special education teachers. Half of all school districts say they have trouble recruiting highly qualified candidates.
The school psychologist
The Role: Here's one job that, on paper, is truly dedicated to student mental health. School psychologists are key players when it comes to crisis intervention and can refer students to outside help, such as a psychiatrist.

The reality: If you sense a pattern here, you're right. In the U.S., there is just one school psychologist for every 1,400 students, according to the most recent data available from the National Association of School Psychologists.
The school nurse
The role: Most any school nurse will tell you, physical and mental health are tough to separate. That puts nurses in a prime spot to catch problems early. For example: A kid who comes into the nurse's office a lot, complaining of headaches or stomach problems? That could be a sign of anxiety, a strategy to avoid a bully, or a sign of troubles at home.

The reality: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least one nurse for every 750 students, but the actual ratio across the country can be much higher.
The principal
The role: As the top dogs in schools, principals make the big decisions about priorities. They can bring in social-emotional, anti-bullying and suicide-prevention programs.

The reality: Principals also have a lot on their plates: the day-to-day management of student behavior, school culture and teacher support.
Getting help, and "excited for life"
Katie says things started to turn around for her when she met a nurse at the Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., who finally showed interest in what was wrong.

Now, she's begun college and wants to be a pediatric nurse.

"I'm doing a lot better now" she says. " Obviously, I mean, I'm a lot happier. I'm excited for school. I'm excited to graduate. I'm excited for life."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An estimated 20 percent of children show signs or symptoms of a mental health problem. It's a destructive force in schools, but most educators don't have the training or resources to help.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On a hot summer day last month, Sydney, 15, and Laney, 8, were enjoying their last two weeks of freedom before school started. The sisters tried to do flips over a high bar at a local playground.

"You've got to pull your hips into the bar, like you've got to kick up like that," explained their mother, Selena.

"I tried to kick! I did this - you told me not to stick out," said Laney indignantly.

Both girls have been diagnosed with mental illnesses - Sydney with bipolar disorder and Laney with a similar illness called disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. The family asked that their last name not be used to protect the girls' privacy.

School has been a real challenge for them. That's not unusual for the 1 in 5 children with a mental illness. They often suffer anxiety, difficulty focusing and social challenges. Half of them drop out of high school, in part because many schools don't manage to meet their needs.

Selena has spent the past eight years trying to get the girls the resources to help them succeed. Like a lot of parents of kids with mental health issues, she's had to be her children's biggest advocate.

"It's definitely a journey. It wasn't easy," she said, even though she's a school guidance counselor herself.

"I used to cry the night before, because I didn't want to go to school."

Sydney describes class as "boring, distracting. It's hard to pay attention. It's overwhelming." She struggles to focus or process information, which makes her so anxious and depressed that she often has to leave school in the middle of the day.

She wants to be a rock star like Courtney Love. Every so often she pretends to take drag from a bubble gum cigarette. But she's an extremely sensitive kid, and school has been a painful experience.

"I used to cry the night before, because I didn't want to go to school," she said.

Laney on the other hand is a ball of chaotic energy. At school, she often gets frustrated and acts out. Sometimes, she is sent home.

Schools do not all screen students for mental health issues, and the practice varies widely across states. Even if students are successfully identified, many areas lack the community-based mental health treatment options that would be needed to help them. Just 38 percent of youth with a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder receive treatment services. In 2014, the federal government announced $48 million in new grants to support teachers, schools and communities in recognizing and responding to mental health issues. Still, many students' mental health problems continue to go unidentified and untreated.

When Selena first noticed the girls were having problems, she took them to the doctor. Sydney started taking medication at the age of 7 and Laney at just 4, but it wasn't a quick fix.

"The brain is complex," said Selena. "It's not like you just take a medicine and it fixes it." It took years to get the girls' diagnoses and prescriptions right.

Selena said she needed to educate teachers about her daughters' illnesses. "I really tried to do my homework. I did a lot of research. Obviously I talked to parents online in a support group," she said.

Schools are starting to better recognize that mental health is key to academic and social success, said Darcy Gruttadaro, director of advocacy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a grassroots organization headquartered outside Washington, D.C.

"Kids spend six hours a day in school, and mental health is essential to learning.

"Kids spend six hours a day in school, and mental health is essential to learning. So schools that are very data-driven understand that in order for some kids to succeed, their mental health needs must be met," she said.

Nonetheless, schools vary greatly in the degree to which they are willing and able to accommodate mental health issues. "Some are doing a lot and training teachers on how to recognize warning signs and talk to families. And others are doing very little to understand the needs of students and how to work with families," said Gruttadaro.

Sydney's and Laney's public schools were willing to make accommodations - but the girls' struggles continued. So, Selena transferred both to a smaller charter school called High Point Academy.

Principal John Hurley said he's seen a growing number of students coming in with mental health diagnoses. The school wants to help - but teachers are not well prepared to handle these issues.

"My training in mental health was one chapter in a book that we covered in one day," recalled Hurley. Many teachers have experience with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he said, but they don't have the tools to draw on when dealing with mood disorders.

"Because we're left in the dark, we have to fumble around to figure out what works best."

"Because we're left in the dark, we have to fumble around to figure out what works best," explained Hurley. "Sometimes you can be wildly successful, and sometimes you can fail miserably and you could have done the exact same thing for two different students."

That's a pretty good description of what happened with Laney and Sydney.

Laney started High Point in the second grade and, by October, had already begun acting out.

"A lot of the times she didn't like to write, so ... she'd get frustrated and she might tear up her paper just depending on how she was feeling," said her second grade teacher, Erica Smith. Occasionally, Laney would also tear up other students' assignments.

Selena was thrilled when Smith reached out and asked for advice. They started communicating almost daily, sharing tips about how best to reach Laney. They developed an individualized education plan, and Smith had a "safe spot" in the classroom where Laney could go to cool down until she could rejoin the class.

At the same time, Laney's doctor adjusted her medications to help balance her mood. The solutions worked - pretty soon Laney was thriving. But Selena knew from experience that what works with one kid doesn't always work with the other.

Selena helped get Sydney an individualized education plan that gave her extra time on tests, fewer assignments and two periods a day with special education teacher Pam Smith, who has a background in mental health.

"I really feel we had everything we could have had that was available to us to meet her needs," said Pam Smith. "I really feel that we went over and above sometimes."

"I started realizing it just wasn't working. I can't send my child somewhere every day and ignore the fact that it's having a negative impact on her mental health."

But nothing seemed to work. Sydney had trouble making friends and often shut down in class. She kept falling further behind.

"I started realizing it just wasn't working. I can't send my child somewhere every day and ignore the fact that it's having a negative impact on her mental health," said Selena.

So in March, she pulled Sydney out of High Point and home-schooled her for the rest of the year.

She looked for a therapeutic school for Sydney to attend this year, but she couldn't find one in her area. So this year, Sydney is attending an online school from home, while Selena works and Laney goes to the third grade at High Point. It's not an ideal solution. Selena wanted Sydney to be in a brick and mortar school with other kids, but she said she's had to learn to be flexible.

"You think as a parent you're supposed to just say, 'Get up and go back to school' the next day. And so you really have to sometimes stop and take stock of what's going on and maybe change the path," she said.

As for Sydney, she said she was looking forward to studying from home. For the first time in years, she said she hadn't been crying ahead of the first day of school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
One out of five children have mental illness, and schools often don't help

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
School has been a real challenge for them. That's not unusual for the 1 in 5 children with a mental illness. They often suffer anxiety, difficulty focusing and social challenges.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
About one in five children in the United States shows signs of a mental health disorder - anything from ADHD to eating disorders to suicide.

And yet, as we've been reporting this month, many schools aren't prepared to work with these students. Often, there's been too little training in recognizing the problems, the staff who are trained are overworked, and there just isn't enough money.

When there are enough people to handle the job, how should all the different roles fit together?

Many experts point to one model. It's got a bureaucratic name - the "multi-tiered system of supports" - but when you picture it, just imagine an upside-down pyramid, or maybe a funnel. It starts with support for everyone and moves on to more and more specialized help.
The Village
Here, everyone in the school has a part to play. The collective mission is broad: Create a school environment of general well-being, and a climate where mental health isn't stigmatized.

It takes a lot of planning - with big decisions often coming from the top. Just askAmanda Aiken.

She is now the Senior Director of Schools at New Orleans College Prep, a charter school network. But before that she was a principal at one of their schools, Lawrence D. Crocker College Prep.

In that role, she made a point to stand outside her New Orleans school every morning. When the buses drove in, she was at each door. Other staff were stationed at the front and back entrances.

Every student, from preschool to eighth grade, shook at least two hands before they even get inside the building.

Every student, every day?

Sometimes, Aiken conceded, it was a hug rather than a handshake.

"They hear a lot of good-mornings and a lot of how-are-you-doings," says Aiken. "I require that human touch."

Now her successor carries on that tradition.

But Aiken wasn't just being nice. It was strategic.

Many students at Crocker, part of a charter school network, have a higher risk for mental health problems. Most students receive free or reduced-price lunches, and Aiken estimates as many as 70 percent have experienced some form of trauma in the last two years: violence in their neighborhoods, family troubles, the daily stress of living in poverty.

"We need to make sure what we're doing is not retraumatizing," she says. "I see the principal as the leader in setting the tone and the culture of how school will support students and families."

That starts in the morning, but extends far beyond. Crocker is a "trauma-informed" school, which means all staff are trained on how to work with, and identify, students who have gone through trauma.

It also means they have a focus on structure, so students know what to expect. They also have a social-emotional curriculum, yoga after school and a focus on keeping suspension rates low through restorative justice.

"They aren't going to be prepared for college if they're suffering," Aiken says.

As principal, she tried to prevent crises, rather than addressing them as they come up.

"If you have everyone trained and take an 'it takes a village' approach, you can do a lot of preventative measures to reduce the risk significantly," says Aiken.

But, she adds, a healthy school environment isn't enough.

"Teachers are trained to teach. We have all taken a child psychology class, but we're not trained to work with kids with mental health needs," she says.

That's where other professionals come in.
The First Responders
When a student does show signs of trouble, one of the first steps is to talk with them. That conversation will dictate what happens next, but getting students to open up? It's easier said than done.

School social worker Ana Bonilla-Galdamez is a pro at that. Her office at Charles Barrett Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., is a testament to the different strategies she uses to unleash the gift of gab in even the most guarded of students.

There's a lot going on in there. First, there's her bookshelf, with titles like: Growing Good Kids, The Special Education Treatment Planner, Small Group Counseling.

And then there's everything else. She has a lot of board games: Candyland, Operation and her favorite, Uno. She also has art supplies, balls, a dollhouse and a sand box. A Superman doll sits in her chair, because even Superman has a weakness.

These are her tools. They help students open up, and they also help build the skills those kids will need throughout life, like managing emotions.

Although now at an elementary school, Bonilla-Galdamez spent most of her 20-year career at the high school level, working largely in what she describes as "crisis mode."

"We would think, 'Man, if we just had met this kid before,' " she says. A few years ago, a job opened up in the elementary school and she decided to apply.

"I thought, this is my chance to see where this starts," she says.

Early intervention for the child - and education for the parent - is key, she says. That's where the games in her office and the phone calls home come in.

"My job is to dig," she says, "For me to do that, I need to build the trust of the parent and the child."

She tells the story of the time a young mom came in, worried about her kindergarten son. He had been telling her he wanted to die. In her office, Bonilla-Galdamez let the boy choose whatever game he wanted. As he grew comfortable, she asked him about life at home.

"He had witnessed people being killed," she says. "He had witnessed a lot of violence."

What to do next all depends on what that child needs. That kindergartner might have ended up in a small group, working on coping skills or managing his emotions. But, in this case that wasn't the answer: She had also learned that the young boy had run out into traffic when he was upset.

"The threat was imminent, so I referred him to emergency services," says Bonilla-Galdamez. "Our environment isn't suited to clinical interventions."

At that point, Bonilla-Galdamez continued working with the family, but she also helped them connect to more specialized help, and the kindergartner moved on to the third level for more support.
Clinical Care
At this level, a doctor or therapist may get involved for the first time. Often, school plays a vital role in connecting the student to a clinic.

Vital, but not necessarily easy. When school psychologists Monique Leopold and Danielle Palmer refer students to a mental health clinic, they know that a lot of the time, the appointment never happens.

The two women have a handful of high-quality programs that they rely on for referrals near their schools - a network of public charter schools in the nation's capital called DC Prep. Sometimes though, families can't get an appointment for months. And when they do, with so many living in poverty, getting there is one more complication in already chaotic lives.

"It's not that [those families] don't love their kids, it's that they don't have the capacity," says Palmer.

And even when the students do get professional treatment or medication, sometimes prescriptions lapse before the child could be seen again.

"Triggers are brought from the community into school," says Leopold, "They go to school without what they need."

To try and meet those needs, DC Prep started a partnership with Children's National Health System. Now, a psychiatrist visits the schools once or twice each month.

"I told a family this morning, 'Listen, we have a doctor here,' " Leopold says, "and the mom's eyes lit up."

Lisa Cullins, one of those psychiatrists who visits, says school is a logical place for students to get clinical mental health care.

"At school, they're going to be there anyway. It's something they do everyday," she says. The partnership isn't just easy on families. It's also easier on her.

"To know our patients, we have to know their school setting," she says. "When I walk in, I have a comprehensive packet of information on how the child has been doing since the beginning of the year."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here's How Schools Can Support Students' Mental Health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
About one in five children in the United States shows signs of a mental health disorder - anything from ADHD to eating disorders to suicide. And yet, as we've been reporting this month, many schools aren't prepared to work with these students.