Mental Health Options in Education

According to NPR, “1 in four students missed 10% of the academic school year” due to struggles with mental health. Statistics have continuously proven that a student’s mental health and well-being drastically impact their school performance. As today’s younger generation has experienced some of the most chaotic of events in the past four years, from circumstances of COVID-19 to the endless harrowing fear of school shootings that still haunt our school hallways today, children’s mental health is at risk every day.

The city of Boulder and the North Metro area in general, is no stranger to mass shootings, as the senseless tragedy of the King Soopers shooting that occurred on March 22, 2021, claiming the lives of 10 people, still stands as a firm reminder of the need for stringent gun reform laws. The worry inevitably extends to schools and universities across the county, which are at risk daily. Parents and guardians sending their children to school carry endless concerns and fears for their children’s well-being and safety. Many parents wonder what the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley School Districts are doing to ensure that their students’ physical and emotional safety is their top concern. The bigger question is, how do these students feel when they attend their classes? The everyday reality of anticipating the worst outcome and being reminded of it through the use of gun safety drills can be emotionally draining to a lot of students.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, students must understand how to respond to an emergency, such as a school shooting. Using these precautions can ensure the protection and safety of many lives. These gun safety drills help students practice for real-life emergencies if a senseless tragedy occurs.

When it comes to school safety drills, the St. Vrain Valley School District follows a method called “SRP” which stands for Standard Response Protocol. This method involves four pivotal actions during an emergency. The first action is “lockout” when the danger is outside of the school, or “lockdown” which is used for when the threat is inside the school. “Evacuate,” which is to move the students from the school to another safer location and then “shelter” is moving the students to a safer main level room in the building. This is all being communicated between staff and law enforcement during the event.

Back in 2022, the Longmont Leader stated that the St. Vrain Valley School District voted unanimously to let law enforcement store guns and rifles in Lyons and Niwot High schools. This vote took place in October of 2022, without any input from the students or their families in the district. This raised concern in the city of Longmont, particularly from one student by the name of Carly Davis. Davis, a senior at Skyline High school at the time, stood in front of the court demanding that this new vote be terminated as it did not involve student input, “(We’re) tired of gun violence, tired of school shootings and tired of not being included in decisions that will affect us. I wanted to communicate that student input on this issue is vital, as well as teacher input,” Davis says. At the start of 2023, the city of Longmont released a statement stating that Boulder County and three other municipalities were being met with lawsuits pertaining to public safety and gun reform laws.

The Boulder Valley School District, on the other hand, has been working on partnering with law enforcement by offering their buildings for multi-jurisdictional exercises. This is intended to help law enforcement familiarize themselves with the different school districts as well as the design of their buildings and help them understand how to react to immediate situations across the campuses. These officers ensure that they practice the best safety methods for responding to an active shooter.

An article published in September by a student intern at the Communications department at the Boulder Valley School District detailed the active shooting scenario training at these buildings during the summer before the start of the fall sessions. She discusses the dedication that the BVSD has committed to ensuring that school shooting drills are taken seriously, training seasoned officers who would be prepared for an emergency like this, “As part of their training, emergency responders run into a school they knew had a threat inside and risk their own lives.” The student illuminates detail after detail of how the police reacted to a scenario, “There was an order for who would show up to the school first; in this scenario, it was a park ranger and two police officers. Following them were more police officers and firefighters and swat.”

There is an organized student and staff training that is also being administered through many classrooms which follows two protocols: secure and all clear. Students translate “secure” as a reaction to danger outside, which requires students and staff to stay inside classrooms and lock doors at all times. Students and staff remain in their classrooms until the “all clear” is announced by law enforcement, which would signify that the danger has been neutralized.

According to a Pew Research survey, 57% of students have expressed worry and fear about attending school due to the possibility of a school shooting. There has been lots of conversation and debate about how school safety drills should be administered and how traumatic they are to many students who don’t want to think about the possibility of enduring such a horrifying experience. While the urgent need for school shooting drills is dark, ensuring that law enforcement is on hand and thoroughly trained to respond to these scenarios is very calming for a lot of students who may struggle with those internal fears.

Anxiety and depression are constantly increasing throughout high school. The Mission of Harbor and Behavioral Health says that “By 18, up to 15%” of teens experience anxiety. Many of these cases are linked to environmental stressors, which can include an uncomfortable and intense environment for a student who may not feel comfortable when attending school. So what options can students take to navigate these fears and traumas that are inevitable at this point?

One prominent resource option for many students struggling with mental health in school facilities is the use of wellness centers. Monarch High School had the first wellness center established in the Boulder Valley School District in 2022.  There have now been an array of school districts like Monarch High School dedicated to providing spaces to ensure the health and wellness of students. These districts include, but are not limited to, Monarch High, Boulder High, Fairview High, Centaurus High, Nederland Middle-Senior, and New Vista High. The space is intended to be a calm and safe area for students to ease their stress, talk about their anxiety, relax, confide in a mental health professional or counselor, and a way for them to get involved with sensory activities. The use of sensory activities helps a student fall back into their awareness, easing their fears and worries. Many students report that these wellness centers have really helped them during many difficult periods throughout high school.

When going on the BVSD website, students rave about the results they’ve seen with the presence of the wellness centers in their schools. One mental health advocate says, “It feels special to me. They are torn between telling everyone how awesome it feels to relax in the room and wanting to keep it a secret.” It’s the perfect place for students to just have a moment for themselves.

Another important factor is for students to have access to mental health professionals who can provide them with a space for them to express their conflicting feelings and find solutions. These mental health professionals are intended to help students by providing them with social, behavioral, and mental growth, providing a safe space for them to navigate their experiences throughout their high school career. A great extended benefit is these mental health professionals are also intended to provide external resources for families to help them navigate and understand their child’s mental health.

The St. Vrain Valley School website states that mental and emotional health is heavily intertwined with your child’s learning development. Their vision states that the district intends to, “…cultivate a school experience that will inspire every student to effectively face the challenges of heart and mind so that they may become joyful, lifelong learners in a diverse world.” Through this vision, the SEL programs list key standards for emotional and learning capabilities for students from kindergarten through -high school. This program was created in order to help develop transparency and awareness for parents when it comes to your child’s growth and journey through social and emotional development.

Alpine Elementary School is an example of a school that has incorporated family and child counseling, as well as a student support team to ensure students are meeting school standards and are being open about their emotional and mental health. The school also provides a list of prominent mental health resources for parents and families pertaining to difficult matters. The intention is to provide parental guidance and navigation to further understand their children’s needs.

While mental health professionals focus on behavioral health, school counselors can also be of benefit, as they can help students with their individual growth as well as their learning capabilities in school. If a child is struggling with a class or with maintaining good grades in general, there are resources provided that can help them get back on track, and mental health is the place to start. These professionals also encourage them to join student groups as a way to immerse themselves more in school activities and find a community for themselves. 

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