May 7th, 2022 is recognized nationally as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. At CISNT, we believe that all students deserve a healthy start and a healthy future, including positive mental health. Services which address students’ mental health needs are a core aspect of CISNT supports, especially as these needs have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mental Health America explained in a 2016 report that “mental health and learning are deeply interwoven – strong mental health is a foundation for learning, and academic success impacts mental health.” Therefore, mental and behavioral health issues that go unnoticed can “distract from learning and school engagement, potentially leading to grade retention, extensive special education needs, school drop-out, or even juvenile justice involvement,” (Healthy Schools Campaign, 2017).
CISNT Site Coordinators and two Mental Health Coordinators work every day to build up student’s social-emotional skills, coping skills, and resiliency. Site Coordinators provide social-emotional supports to individuals, groups, and the whole school, such as self-esteem boosting activities, lessons to teach students to recognize signs of anxiety or depression, or mindfulness activities. Site Coordinators also continuously evaluate students’ mental health and refer students in need of professional counseling to the CISNT Mental Health Coordinators. These individuals provide free assessments and counseling on the school campus, ensuring that students are able to access the services that they need. To learn more about CISNT’s mental health services, check back on our blog and social media throughout the month of May as we highlight the amazing work of our staff and the incredible resiliency of our students.
Today, we celebrate Ezra, our 2022 Student of the Year at Mill Street Elementary, who benefited from services from the CISNT Site Coordinator, Mental Health Coordinator, and a CISNT mentor. His Site Coordinator, Ms. Chamorro shares, “Even though his year started out with a few bumps in the road with frequent office visits and referrals, Ezra has come a long way. He has even caught the principal’s attention who has noted she is amazed at the way he has turned around in how great he has been and how he has not had one office visit since putting CIS services in place.” To learn more about Ezra’s journey, click here: https://cisnt.org/congratulations-ezra-2022-student-of-the-year-at-mill-street-elementary-school/
CISNT services are community supported and community funded, including by entities such as the City of Lewisville, the City of Denton, United Way, and supporters like you. To make a donation to support North Texas students, visit cisnt.org/donate.
