Student Mental Health is On Our Minds
At Middle States, we regard student mental health as one of the forces at play that will have a tectonic influence on education over the next decade and beyond.
Consider that one in five U.S. children experience a mental disorder annually, according to the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.
Moreover, the CDC reported that almost half of the teens they surveyed reported feeling sad or hopeless, and many had stopped participating in their regular activities.
Globally, the World Health Organization has identified depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders as among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.
Student mental health is clearly on your mind, too.
According to a survey we sent to Middle States members last fall, more than 50% of you want to learn more about how to deal with mental health issues in your schools.
We heard you, and we are committed to helping you better understand the forces at play in education and to assisting you in developing strategies for cultivating a socially and emotionally healthy school community.
To that end, I am pleased to invite you to join me on April 26, 2023 when — as part of the “Year of the Middle States Network” — I will discuss this topic with James Incardona, PhD, Assistant Headmaster at Seton Hall Prep, and Camille Banks-Lee, a psychotherapist and former middle school teacher and administrator who also serves on the board of Fordham Preparatory.
Under Dr. Incardona’s leadership, Seton Hall Prep has made a concentrated effort to study and improve student mental health, and has chosen to embark on an action research project to fulfill their accreditation requirements using the Middle States Sustaining Excellence protocol.
You can read more about that important project later in this newsletter.
To register for the virtual panel discussion and Q & A, click here.
As educators, you are on the front lines of this profoundly important work for your students, faculty and staff. You can count on Middle States to be there by your side.
Christian Talbot
President
MSA-CESS
PS. I highly recommend reading The Emotional Life of Teens by Lisa Damour, PhD. Recently released, the book brims with practical wisdom and subject matter expertise.
