By AVA ALBICOCCO and REMI WEBB
High school students who experience academic and social stress are at a higher risk for mental illness. Therefore the Jericho High School administrative team set a goal to assure that students are constantly supported, and began with training faculty in a new set of mental health procedures for students in crisis.
During a Superintendent’s Conference day in August, Jericho teachers received training for specific procedures to follow if they believe a student’s mental health condition is serious. Since teachers have the most regular interaction with students, they were instructed about steps to take if they observed a significant change to a student’s wellbeing.
Jericho High School social worker Mr. Velez emphasized why teachers were asked to oversee their students’ mental health. He said, “There’s been an active effort to try and get not just the mental health staff on board, but also utilizing teachers because they are the ones that really see large groups of students every single period throughout the course of a school year. ”
Social worker Mr. Velez said, “People have recognized that students are dealing with a lot of emotional issues and sometimes it tends to go unnoticed.”
Jericho High School psychologist Dr. Smith believes that this mandate is just as important as any academic policy. She said, “I feel as though it’s equally important as academics, if not in many ways even more important, because academic growth doesn’t come when somebody is not emotionally in a good place.”
Dr. Danielle Smith and the entire administrative team is collaborating to create an inclusive environment academically and socially. They want to spread awareness and inform each Jericho High School student that they are always welcome to talk.
Most Jericho High School students are unaware of this new mandate. However, they are relieved to know that mental health is a concept taken seriously by their administrators. Junior Evan P. said, “Students are overwhelmed with work, and now with this mandate, they know that they have a safe place to talk about anything they need especially when they are stressed out or in a time of crisis.”
Junior Zach M. added, “I feel that mental health is one of the most important things that schools should be looking for, especially in our teenage years where our brains are most developing.”
Within the mental health mandate, everyone has a different role. Teachers are trained to look for indicators that students may be in crisis or in distress so that they can relay that information to trained mental health psychologists and social workers.
Sophomore Ryan F. is aware of the training that the administration has provided to the faculty in order to execute an effective protocol. She thinks that this protocol is going to increase the number of students who feel comfortable with their teachers and administrators. She said, “It’s a good step in the right direction in order to be more well-equipped for students’ mental health.”
Co-principal of Jericho High School Mr. Cohen is pleased to know students are aware of the protocol. He believes that it is important for students to know about the support and availability of all staff members. He said, “Our goal is to collectively make sure we are here for all of our students.”
Co-principal Mr. Cohen believes in the importance of training all staff about indicators that students might be in crisis.
The Jericho mental health mandate aims to be a reassuring policy to foster a safe environment so that every student has access to resources if necessary.