My students are going through a mental health crisis | Valerie Steele

Valerie Steele
Guest opinion

Stephanie, one of my eighth graders, often had emotional outbursts and was aggressive toward her peers and adults. As I got to know her, I learned about her triggers. Triggers like students making fun of her for sexual orientation and teachers who do not have compassion for those choices. Her homelife was not optimal and meltdowns would occur at school. I also knew that she lacked coping skills and that being patient and allowing her to have a voice helped her to cope. Throughout the year, Stephanie appeared to have stopped the erratic behavior, started completing her assignments, and strived to get along with her peers. Her other teachers corroborated what I was thinking; Stephanie was doing better. I was thrilled because I had been able to reach her.

Then over spring break, Stephanie took her own life. Devastated, I questioned everything I knew about teaching. I knew I missed critical clues in order to help her. If I'd had the right training, I could have spotted the clues, referred Stephanie to a counselor, or provided a toolkit of resources available in the community for her and her family. If I had been trained on how to help students like Stephanie, she might still be sitting in my class.

In recent surveys and focus groups, my colleagues and I conducted as part of the Teach Plus Mississippi Policy Fellowship, teachers in our state have consistently said that mental health training and services are one of their most pressing needs as COVID-19 continues to impact our students. The effects of the pandemic are continuing three years into our national health crisis. Last fall, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association declared a national mental health emergency among young people.

During 2020, 1 in 6 adolescents aged 12-17 experienced a major depressive episode and 3 million had serious thoughts of suicide, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Teachers like me need training on recognizing and responding to symptoms of trauma and of adverse childhood experiences. We need training on the implementation of restorative classroom management and discipline practice, and on using mental health first-aid when our students are facing mental health challenges and crisis situations. Districts in Mississippi can provide training and available resources, including free online resources, to help us recognize signs of distress in our classrooms. Districts can also work with counselors to screen behaviors that may mask a crisis, engage in proactive dialogue to interrupt a crisis, and restore our classrooms to a positive learning environment to educate the whole student.

Each district in Mississippi should have a team consisting of school counselors, educators, nurses and other staff members that can develop a plan to meet the mental health needs of students and teachers. These teams would enable teachers to communicate with counselors, nurses and administrators to identify mental health needs and then connect students and families with the appropriate resources. The teams can also ensure that both students and teachers can support their own mental health by raising awareness of available resources, such as the state’s new telehealth program. Teachers have the trust of the students and parents, and we know that the community can support students and families through trauma and crisis.

Teachers throughout our state can collaborate and share good ideas. We can embrace this opportunity for creative, outside-the-box thinking to support students' and teachers' mental health. For example, school departments can plan a special lunch where students can bring a favorite family dish. I once brought pictures of when I was my students’ age and we laughed about hair and fashion. Occasions like this can help to both relieve stress and build enduring relationships.

As a teacher, I am accountable for my students' academic success, and their social and emotional health. But to educate the whole student and do my job well, I need the support from my school, district and state to recognize, address and help heal students' trauma. Then, when another student needs my help, I’ll know how and where to go.

Valerie Steele is an eighth grade teacher at Brandon Middle School in Brandon and a 2021-22 Teach Plus Mississippi Policy fellow.