Addressing mental health needs
we respond to situations, the children around us feed off that. Although we may be fearful of uncertainties, if we model patience and calmness to children, they are resilient and they will foster what we are modeling.” Schade adds that honest conversations about the need to be flexible can help prepare students for the potential of changing their learning environments. “We’ve asked [parents] to help their children understand that even though they will return to school in the fall, there will most likely be adaptations to online, live learning platforms at some point,” said Schade. Hofmeister encourages parents to equip children with the mindset of being courteous and thinking of others. Extending grace and patience will be key factors for students and parents alike this school year, particularly as school administrators strive to make the best possible decisions for their communities and teachers are faced with new challenges. “We are not going to get every answer correct for every scenario and we are not going to plan perfectly for this,” said Jernigan. “There will be decisions made that parents aren’t always going to like. Having grace and telling teachers ‘thank you’ will be really important.”
“For students with learning differences, change can be especially difficult,” said Schade. McDaniel says assessing students’ mental, social and emotional health will be a priority, whether students are learning in person or virtually. OKCPS has added counselors and nurses at every school, in addition to a handful of social workers. Embrace OKC, a new collaborative initiative that has developed a comprehensive, district- wide mental health action plan to address challenges OKCPS students and families are facing, will help provide preventative education and treatment as needed. “We will have all eyes on our kids from a mental health standpoint as well as an academic standpoint,” said McDaniel. Preparing students and supporting teachers Jernigan encourages parents to have candid conversations with students to explain that school may not look the same this fall but that teachers are still going to make learning fun and help them to grow. “It’s important to remember ‘my state dictates your state,’” said Jernigan. “However
Families across Oklahoma are experiencing increased stress, in part because, as Hofmeis- ter points out, the unemployment rate has ris- en from four to 13 percent during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. That stress extends to children in the home, and it can be impossible for children to learn when they are worried. Hofmeister says the Department of Education is offering mental health training as well as grants based on five priority areas for Oklahoma schools to focus on, including meeting students’ mental health needs. In some of its elementary schools, Edmond Public Schools has already employed Conscious Discipline, trauma-informed, evidence-based, social-emotional classroom management and learning strategies. All elementary schools will make use of these strategies this year, which include teaching and establishing emotional regulations for students. Trinity’s school counselor provided guidelines to families to help them understand how to talk with children about their fears and uncertainties.
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20 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / AUGUST 2020
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