Prioritizing mental health in schools is more important than ever.

It’s well known that adolescence can be a trying time. But in addition to the usual run of physical, mental, and emotional changes, there are a number of external factors that make growing up today a stressful experience. Consider the rise of social media or the prevalence of school shootings, both of which have changed what it means to be a student in this day and age. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these factors take a toll on mental health.

Ample research backs this up: a study from Johns Hopkins found that the chance of adolescents experiencing clinical depression rose by 37 percent between 2005 and 2014. Another study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that between 2007 and 2015, the rate of suicide for those aged 15 to 19 increased by 31 percent for males and more than doubled for females.

The result of these alarming numbers is that many schools have recognized the need to provide students not only with psychological services, but also with mental health education. While many schools have psychologists on staff, states have not yet mandated mental health education initiatives — with New York and Virginia being the two exceptions. By implementing mental health initiatives in schools, educators will be able to help students prioritize their own well-being in a way that sets them up for long-term success.

Prioritizing Mental Health Starts Young

The ties between our educational system and mental health run deep. For starters, children in America spend an average of 1,000 of the roughly 6,000 waking hours in a year in school. That number varies depending on grade level, meaning that high schoolers (who are most likely to have a mental health condition) spend even more time in the classroom. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five teenagers lives with a mental health condition, and 37 percent of students over the age of 14 who have mental conditions end up dropping out of school. Suicide is also the third-leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 24, and it’s estimated that 90 percent of those who die by suicide have an underlying mental illness.

These numbers highlight how important it is to prioritize mental health — and early. Studies show that roughly half of all lifetime mental illnesses will develop by age 14, around the time students are entering high school. For this reason, K-12 schools are a critical place to begin discussing mental health, and it’s essential that educators do the work of educating both themselves and their students.

Beyond helping promote general safety and well-being, mental health also has a proven effect on student achievement. It can affect how students learn in the classroom and interact with their peers, both of which are key components of a well-rounded education. The good news is that when schools implement appropriate and adequate support services, they can help meet the mental health needs of their students, thereby minimizing negative impacts and ensuring that students are prepared to succeed.

How to Increase Mental Health Awareness in Schools

In many cases, early intervention can result in more positive outcomes for students. This is not to say that educators should act as psychologists or take on the role of dedicated mental health professionals. Rather, when teachers and counselors receive adequate training to better notice sudden changes in a student’s behavior early on, it’s much more likely that they’ll be able to connect the student with the appropriate support services to get them back on track. In the long run, this sort of support can encourage students not to drop out, reduce crimes and violence, and potentially even save lives.

Beyond teacher training, there are a number of ways to implement educational initiatives focused on mental health. In New York, public school teachers have been encouraged to incorporate discussions of mental health into other school subjects, from science to social studies. Health teachers have been asked to create curricula that describe mental illnesses and how to cope in healthy ways. Virginia has instituted a statewide program on the science behind mental illnesses with the goal of reducing stigma and helping students learn how to notice and improve their own mental health. Finally, exercise has been linked with increased concentration and mental health, which means that increasing schools’ physical education budgets — on average only $764 per school, per a 2016 report — could also contribute to school-wide improvements to student well-being.

As with the implementation of any new support systems and initiatives, however, promoting mental health awareness will ultimately require funding. Vinson’s CheckPoint EMIS Platform provides an accurate, intelligent reporting system that gives educators the ability to more easily track and manage student data. By helping you minimize the errors in your data, CheckPoint helps you ensure that your district is getting all the funding you’re entitled to — which can go towards keeping your students healthy and safe.