School ClimatePolicy Levers for Mental Health Services

Kelly Vaillancourt-Strobach, Ph.D, NCSPNational Association of School PsychologistsDirector, Government and Professional Relations

Importance of School Climate and Mental Health Supports in Schools

What is School Climate?• “…the quality and character of school life…”

• “…sets the tone for all the learning and teaching done in the school environment…“

• “. . . is predictive of students’ ability to learn and develop in healthy ways.”– -National School Climate Center

Key Elements of a Positive School Climate

1. Interpersonal Relationships– Social Support

2. Institutional Environment– Connectedness and engagement

3. Safety– Physical AND Psychological Safety

4. Teaching and Learning– Learning Supports

*National School Climate Center

Think of a School…• Did you feel safe?• Did you feel welcomed?• Do other students feel safe and welcomed?• Do the staff feel supported?• Do students and staff feel

connected to the school and each other?

• Did positive relationships exist?

What Is the Purpose of Education?

• College and Career Readiness?• Boosting Learning?• School Boards (Peifer, 2014)

– 75% respondents identified “helping student fulfill their potential” or “prepare students for a satisfying and productive life”

– Only 16% chose preparing for college or career

• Common theme – we need to teach people, not a curriculum

What is Mental Health?

Mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness

Mental health also encompasses social, emotional, and behavioral wellness and the ability to cope with life’s challenges.

Brass Tacks

Mental health is a pre-requisite to effective learning

Viewing mental health services in schools as a luxury or extra-curricular service undermines learning outcomes.

Need for Mental Health Supports

• Divorce• Financial difficulties• Homelessness• Family conflict• Violence• Deployment• Death• Unemployment• Bullying• Academic Difficulties

Need for Mental Health Supports• Approximately 1 in 3 students report being bullied

each year▫ Bullying and harassment is associated with

increased depression and anxiety for bullies, victims, and bystanders

• Approximately 2.2 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 reported a major depressive episode in the past year

• Nearly 6 out 10 of these adolescents did not receive any treatment

• Overall, 1 in 5 of children and adolescents in the U.S. experience signs and symptoms of a mental health problem and 5% experience “extreme functional impairment”

Why Not Let Community Services Handle This?

• Where the kids go• Multiple barriers to accessing mental

health services in community

• Research is clear– Most kids in need of support do not access

supports in the community

Mental Health Supports

• School-employed mental health professionals– School psychologists– School social workers– School counselors

• MTSS– Range of supports of varying intensity based

on need– Individual, small group, classroom, school-

wide, district-wide– Prevention and intervention

Why Should Policy Makers Care?

The Good NewsEnsuring student access to mental health supports and MTSS:

• improves student mental wellness, behavioral functioning, and academic achievement.

• improves educational outcomes by decreasing absences, discipline referrals and improving test scores.

• reduces special education referrals

• improve aspects of the school climate

More Good NewsPositive School Climates:

• improve academic achievement

• reduce the likelihood of risky behaviors

• helps foster increased student engagement

• improves overall school safety

Instruction Addressing Barriers

(Prevention)

Management

MTSS Serves the Whole Child

Math Calculation

Reading Fluency

Social Skills

Attendance

Social Studies

Witness to violence/gangs

Class participation

Self Esteem

Self-Regulation

Science

Reading Decoding

Reading Comprehension

Communication skills

Model of School Based Mental Health Services

What Can Policymakers Do?

Solution 1: Funding• Increase funding for ESEA Title I and IV;

and IDEA• Appropriate funds for:

– The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program

– School Climate Transformation Grants– Comprehensive School Safety Initiative– Safe Schools/Healthy Students– Project Aware

Solution 2: Support Policies that• Encourage MTSS (e.g. PBIS, RTI)• Include measures of school climate in

accountability plans• Require consultation with SISP in local

and state schoolwide plans• Allow Title II professional development

funds to be used for SEL• Create an office or point person within the

Department of Education to coordinate efforts

Support Policies that• Expands access to school based mental

health programs• Increase ratios of school employed mental

health professionals• Encourage collaborative school-

community partnerships• Encourage measures of school quality and

availability of learning supports in accountability plans

• Prohibit bullying and harassment

Current ESEA Proposals• Safe Schools Improvement Act• Student Nondiscrimination Act• Grants for the Integration of MH and

Schools• Mental Health First Aid Training• Professional development for social-

emotional learning

Key Messages

• Positive mental health and school climate matters to student and school success.

• Sustained investment in both represents an investment in academic success.

• Policy makers need to be intentional and directive about their support of these policies and practices

Remember…

If we teach a child to read they can get a job;

If we teach them to behave they can keep it.

-Kevin Dwyer