In July, ESU 10 hosted the second annual School Mental Health Summit. Seven district leadership teams participated in the summit, developed and hosted by ESU 10’s Social-Emotional Behavior Committee. District teams were comprised of administrators, general education teachers, school counselors and interventionists. Additionally, ESU 10 School psychologists, Licensed Mental Health Practitioners and Teaching and Learning Coordinators also participated in the training and supported district teams in attendance.
The School Mental Health Summit is a collaborative effort between the Special Education and Teaching and Learning Department and is supported by a grant that ESU 10 received from the Nebraska Department of Education. The goal of the Summit is to support districts in developing a comprehensive school mental health framework that aligns to the work being done through the district’s continuous improvement process and MTSS framework. The two days of training consists of modules that are aligned with the national performance domains of the Comprehensive School Mental Health System of Quality. The School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System (www.theSHAPEsystem.com) is utilized. It is a public-access, web-based platform that offers schools, districts and states a workspace and targeted resources to support school mental health quality improvement. After two days of training, teams have the opportunity to develop an action plan to support the continuum of school-based and mental health services available to students and teachers in the district. The Nebraska Department of Education provides financial support to districts who participate in the Summit and complete an approved action plan. Examples of supports written in districts’ action plans include purchasing social-emotional curriculum, providing professional development opportunities for staff, and contracting with Licensed Mental Health Therapists. ESU 10, through the Special Education and Teaching and Learning Departments, continues to provide technical assistance and support to districts throughout the school year following the Summit.
Over the past two years, thirteen school districts have participated in the School Mental Health Summit and have been trained in enhancing the social-emotional and mental health supports for their students and staff. Feedback received from participants in the training has included appreciating the content and work time given to districts to create their social-emotional framework, gaining a better understanding of mental health and what supports are already in place at the district, and gaining an understanding of school mental health and social-emotional behavior learning and how it is part of the continuous improvement process. The Teaching and Learning and Special Education Departments will continue to collaborate to provide support to districts with enhancing their social emotional and mental health frameworks of support within the Continuous Improvement/MTSS process.