ultimately made little to no progress.An article from the National Centerof Biotechnology Information hasstated that schools must include, “(1)public health protection, promotion,and maintenance that foster positivedevelopment and wellness; (2)preschool-age support and assistanceto enhance health and psychosocialdevelopment; (3) early-schoolingtargeted interventions; (4) improvementand augmentation of ongoing regularsupport; (5) other interventions priorto referral for intensive and ongoingtargeted treatments; and (6) intensivetreatments” (Adelman & Taylor, 2006).It is a difficult task to pick up on signswhen the teachers are assigned to somany students, but it is an importanttask nonetheless. There are parentswho believe therapy is excessive orare in denial that their child mayneed help, which is why the schoolshould take charge and providethis service, if needed, so that thestudent has a clear voice in theiremotional health and wellbeing. Manyschools have guidance counselorsor advisors assigned to a studentwhose main objective is to help saidstudent find the college suitable forthem — or when in college, remain init and be successful. There are alsoschool psychologists, who variousstudents don’t even know the nameof. Universities and high schools couldadjust their mistakes, but it certainlytakes effort. I have found that studentsfeel their school genuinely does notcare about their emotional wellbeingor only make greater strides after anunfortunate tragedy within the studentbody. I am sure that is not the case,but schools have done a poor job ofshowing their concerns.In the survey, many students leftremarks on how schools could dobetter. This is a discussion all deansand principals should reconsider. Forstarters, there are schools with socialworkers that students do not knowexist. It is important that in orientation,the school highlights the importanceof mental health and the names ofwho they can turn to. Students tend tobuild and connect with their teachers,who are trustable adults, but theyneed professional help from those whohave had training. Creating similarbonds with the social workers in theschool would provide a safe space forstudents willing to seek it; bi-weeklymeetings with counselors to create saidrelationship is crucial. Another issue isthat many students fear the violationof the confidentiality of their trust andwhat they say to their counselors.Survey respondents were allowed aspace to choose if they would like toshare their experiences or not. In onespecific case, a student’s sexuality wasouted to their traditionalist parents bytheir counselor. A professional therapistonly reports personal, confidentialinformation when there are signs orthreats that their patient will harmthemself or someone else. Why wouldthere be a difference between aguidance counselor and a therapistin terms of the legality of releasinginformation?School nurses can play a largerpart in this crisis than we realize.Many school nurses perform visionscreenings. The education system couldalso add mental health testing to thevision screenings that many schoolnurses conduct. (Adelman & Taylor,2006). These could take place afterthe collaboration of both the teachersand parents watching the attitude,mood, and possible signs a studentpossesses, and those at risk could bescreened.One concern raised in the surveywas that some schools simply donot have the funding while othersdo not put in enough effort intoproviding mental health awareness.This can be represented by the factthat many students do not know whotheir school psychologist is. To havea school psychologist is a servicethat not all schools possess. Ava, astudent described in The HechingerReport, successfully transitioned backto school with the help of “BRYT, orBridge for Resilient Youth in Transition,which helps students return to schoolafter extended mental health-relatedabsences” (2020). She attended thisprogram for one period a day wherethey helped her catch up on work andfocus on her emotions and mentalhealth. She found it helpful and it couldbe incorporated into other schools(Serrano, 2020).After surveying fifty students, itis evident that our education systemneeds to reform how we tackle theissues of mental health. My survey hasflaws, such as the small sample size,yet it is only one small step towardsinsight on how students feel towardsmental health in schools. It is just asimportant as our safety and physicalhealth.Works Cited1. Adelman, Howard S, and Linda Taylor. MentalHealth in Schools and Public Health. NCBI.2006.2. Serrano, Alfonso. How to Help StudentsCope with Mental Health in Schools. TheHechinger Report. 30 Mar. 2020.3. A Silent Epidemic: The Mental Health Crisis InOur Schools. NPR. 2016.16 THE SYNERGY PROJECT MAGAZINE
THE SYNERGY PROJECT MAGAZINE 17