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This article discusses different ways, or projects, schools have implemented to try and combat the mental health crisis. It goes on to talk about projects such as the SHAPE system which is a web-based mental health resource portal available to educators within Maryland schools to track and analyze different responses to mental resources.

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MHTTC National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules for States, Districts, and Schools

To help states, districts, and schools advance comprehensive school mental health, as well as engage in a planning process around implementation of services, the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office and National Center for School Mental Health developed the National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules for States, Districts, and Schools (formerly known as the National School Mental Health Curriculum). 8 module slide decks designed for delivery in one-hour sessions, and r ecorded virtual learning sessions that include a deeper dive into the module content. To access the Implementation Guidance Modules, click below.

The modules focus on the following core components of comprehensive school mental health:

Educators and Student Instructional Support Personnel

Collaboration and Teaming

Multi-Tiered System of Supports

Evidence-Informed Services and Supports

Cultural Responsiveness and Equity

Data-Driven Decision Making

The modules are intended to be used by district teams to influence, develop, and oversee school mental health systems at the school district- and building-levels. District teams may include:

School District Leaders (e.g., Superintendent, School Board)

The modules align with the national performance domains and indicators established as part of the National Quality Initiative on School Health. Each module includes resources and tools to support learning extensions and can be adapted and built upon to be contextualized to regions, states, and districts.

Additional resources:
To help familiarize yourself with the material covered in each module, the Southeast MHTTC developed short, pre-recorded videos for each of the eight modules. Click below to view the videos for each module!

Since the modules were launched, they have been downloaded over 4,000 times across the United States and over 20 other countries! A heat map displaying the reach of the modules is available here.

Interested in accessing all resources included in the National School Mental Health Best Practices? Access the new National School Mental Health Best Practices Index: A Supplementary Guide. This document is an index to help users search and locate specific resources referenced within each of the 8 modules.

The Updated School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System

The SHAPE System, developed by the NCSMH at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is a free, private, web-based portal that offers a virtual workspace for school mental health teams at school, district, and state levels to document, track, and advance quality and sustainability improvement goals as well as assess trauma responsiveness. The SHAPE System also offers access to free action planning, mapping, program implementation resources and other critical tools to advance comprehensive school mental health systems.

In 2019, the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office collaborated with the NCSMH to refine current and develop new resources, tools, and curricula for the SHAPE System that address unique regional and state considerations. Enhancements to the SHAPE System include expanding the capacity of the state dashboard to allow for viewing of progress across regions, and offering districts and states a more targeted and personalized action planning and mapping process for quality improvement in school mental health.

Any school mental health teams or school districts can use this dynamic, free online system to improve school mental health accountability, excellence, and sustainability. Click here to learn more about the SHAPE System and the exciting new features available!

Questions? Please feel free to contact the NCSMH team.

School Mental Health Best Practices Always and Now 8-Part Learning Series

The MHTTC Network hosted an 8-part training series using the National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules for States, Districts, and Schools.

In this series, each learning session included a pre-session video, panel session, and post-session regional breakout.

The purpose of the pre-session videos was to familiarize participants with the resource material for each module.

Sessions consisted of a discussion with a small panel of education and mental health leaders from across the country (including a member from the National Center for School Mental Health team), who provided an "always and now" application of the modules and innovative ideas for implementation, considering the current pandemic and its impact on school mental health.

The post-session Regional Breakout sessions were intended for participants to have an informal discussion regarding content from the live session, contextualized for their specific region.

Click here to access the recordings of the presentations, a 2-page summary of the series, and additional resources for each session, including an FAQ document!
MHTTC National School Mental Health Learning Community

The in-person learning session was just one component of the National School Mental Health Learning Community. The MHTTC Network Coordinating Office and the NCSMH hosted five Virtual Learning Sessions that all Learning Community participants were invited to attend. The sessions provided didactic content, aligned with the National School Mental Health Best Practices modules, and participants were asked to share progress and lessons learned on specific improvement goals related to school mental health. In addition, participants exchanged resources, tools, templates, and other materials within the community to promote shared learning. To access recordings of the five Virtual Learning Sessions, click The 2019 National School Mental Health Learning Community has concluded. If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Gonzalez at
here.

[email protected] .

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National School Mental Health Implementation Guidance Modules and Related Projects

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MHTTC National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules for States, Districts, and Schools To help states, districts, and schools advance comprehensive school mental health, as well as engage in a planning process around implementation of services, the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office and National Center for School Mental Health developed the National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules for States, Districts, and Schools (formerly known as the National School Mental Health Curriculum).

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This article not only discusses what many students are going through but who is at risk when it comes to mental health concerns, training needed to help these individuals, and partnerships available along with many other resources. This article is unique in the sense that it also links additional articles to better inform its readers about mental health and how they can help.

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Make schools safer by improving access to mental health services. Students often come to school with complex physical and mental health concerns or social service needs. Access to mental health services helps to create a positive school climate, prevents worsening of mental health conditions, and leads to better outcomes for students.

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This short article talks about how schools are truly the perfect place to discuss mental health and provide resources. It goes on to state how schools can intertwine mental health resources into their education environment and the benefits to doing so.

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School-based mental health is becoming a vital part of student support systems. According to the most recent data in 2005, over one-third of school districts used school or district staff to provide mental health services, and over one-fourth used outside agencies to provide mental health services in the schools.1 The President’s Now Is the Time plan to improve access to mental health care in our schools and communities emphasizes the urgency to “make sure students and young adults get treatment for mental health issues” through early identification, referral for treatment, training for school teachers in early detection and response to mental illness, assistance for schools to address pervasive violence, and training for additional mental health professionals to provide mental health services in schools.2 Federal agencies such as the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Institute of Medicine are also calling on schools to enhance early identification methods to assess and connect students with mental health.3

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This article discusses how California Schools are trying to adapt to this mental health crisis by adding in curriculum that discusses mental health, similar to that of a health class.

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"Teenagers are much more likely to listen to someone at school than a lecture from Mom or Dad," he said. "Our hope is that this encourages that peer-to-peer advocacy and support and it will have wide-reaching effects."

Even before the pandemic, young people were facing myriad mental health challenges, fueled in part by social media, racial inequity and growing social and political discord.

In 2019, a third of U.S. high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After nearly two years of a pandemic, those feelings have dramatically intensified for many students, especially those who have felt isolated or struggled with distance learning, medical conditions or economic hardship.

Alvin Lee, the executive director of Generation Up, a California youth advocacy group that strongly supported the new law, said education is a good way to help students cope with their own emotional struggles, while also learning how best to support their friends.

"Mental health is one of the biggest conversations happening right now," said Lee, a first-year student at Claremont McKenna College. "The research is pretty clear. The more mental health education early on, the better the outcomes later. ... Our hope is that this prepares the next generation of students to talk about and deal with mental health issues, their own as well as others'."

Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a stark warning about the mental health of young people, urging schools, health care companies and other institutions to do a better job supporting young people's emotional health and self-esteem.

In the report, Murthy recommended that young people have increased access to high-quality counseling and physical care and learn techniques for managing stress and emotional changes, while also limiting their social media and video game exposure.

Increased support for kids in families struggling with poverty and other inequities is also key, he added.

"Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real, and they are widespread," Murthy wrote in the report. "But most importantly, they are treatable, and often preventable. ... Our obligation to act is not just medical - it's moral."

The California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance strongly supported SB 224, noting that even though mental health is included in existing curriculum, the way it's taught is not consistent across school districts and teachers often are not adequately prepared to cover it.

Hopefully, this bill will help fix that, said William Potter, the group's president.

"Many [of our] members instruct mental health topics in schools, and we know how important this education is for young people. It can literally save lives," he said. "However ... many school districts do not have qualified health teachers who are trained to teach this content and it would be great to see that change."

Jessica Cruz, executive director of the California chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said the new law is a good start in reducing the stigma of mental illness and encouraging students, teachers and families to talk about the issue.

"We're happy this isn't one-and-done," she said. "We wanted to make sure it's robust, ingrained in the curriculum and cumulative over time, so students really get a chance to understand and identify mental health disorders and know how to access resources."

Ideally, she said, it's the beginning of more comprehensive and substantial mental health education in schools, beginning in kindergarten.

"My hope is that eventually this curriculum will get into every school in California and the nation," she said. "It's not just for the benefit of students, but their families and teachers, too. It's for the entire community."
This story was originally published by EdSource.

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'Hopefully This Will Change Lives': Mental Health Curriculum Added to California High School Health Classes | KQED

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"Teenagers are much more likely to listen to someone at school than a lecture from Mom or Dad," he said. "Our hope is that this encourages that peer-to-peer advocacy and support and it will have wide-reaching effects." Even before the pandemic, young people were facing myriad mental health challenges, fueled in part by social media, racial inequity and growing social and political discord.

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Maya Dawson TedTalk on Mental Health in Schools

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Maya Dawson TedTalk on Mental Health in Schools

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This is a great TedTalk that breaks down why many students especially teens are struggling with mental health and how schools can help. Maya Dawson, the speaker, notes that students don't know how to even describe what things they are struggling with because they have never been given the tools to do so.

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Maya Dawson: Mental Health in Schools: We're Doing it Wrong

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School counselors are a crucial resource for students, but their services are not accessible for all youth. We are not giving students the language they need to talk about their own mental health, which is keeping them from getting support until they are in crisis.