Starkville Oktibbeha School managing mental health
STARKVILLE, Miss (WCBI) – Kids spend a lot of their time in schools. Now, some schools are stepping in to help those young people better manage their mental health.
At the beginning of the school year, administration and students may not know each other; But, the Starkville Oktibbeha School district is using technology to open up lines of communication. The Canvas Page app is helping students track and guide their overall wellness.
According to School Climate Coordinator Lesley Jones, “every day when they log in, they can check a green, a yellow, or a red smiley face. And if they are green, that means they are good to go. If they click on the yellow, it will give them some de-escalation tips, maybe some strategies on breathing in and out, or just bringing them back here so their anxiety can just fade away. And if they select a red face, that means they need some attention, so it automatically alerts administrators as well as the grade level counselors.”
The school district also offers additional resources to the students and staff, focusing on overall wellness to promote a better school year.
“No cost to the student or family, they will get to meet with an outside resource once a week, and so we have that available and counselors can suggest it parents can reach out if they are seeing some differences in their student, so we do have that available, and that resource is actually is available to our staff as well,” Jones said.
The school coordinator reminds parents, guardians, and school leaders that communication is a tool for managing students’ mental health.
“I think the number one thing is to talk to your kids, a lot of times, students just want to be heard, and if they know the conversation is there and can be had they are more adept to actually have that conversation. Whereas if it’s always negative and the door is always closed, and they don’t have that option to talk, then they will start to internalize things.”
For more information on how to access available recourses, contact School Climate Coordinate Lesley Jones at lejones@starkvillesd.com
