It’s not just “reading, writing and arithmetic” that students and teachers need to focus on as they return to school. Mental, spiritual and physical wellness are also crucial.
St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary School in Worcester found creative ways to address those issues last year – with eighth-graders’ help – and plans to do so this year, according to Meg Kursonis, principal.
Theirs was one of several Catholic schools in the diocese which had administrators and teachers receiving certification as mental health first aiders during the 2022-2023 academic year. (In some cases, staff were also certified.) The training is scheduled for one more school – St. Bernard Elementary in Fitchburg – on Aug. 22.
The diocesan Catholic Schools Office offered the training by having Lynn Lynch, director of business operation for Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services, give professional days at different sites, said David Perda, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Worcester.
Ms. Lynch said that at one site two other trainers helped teach the mental health first aid course created by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, which also involved videos, discussion and role playing.
The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health funded this training, and it was also given in public schools, she said. She stated that a federal grant will pay for the training in the future.
Superintendent Perda said he would like new people at Catholic schools to receive the training.
“Everyone was in agreement that it was badly needed,” he said.
“The divisiveness of society wears down on people,” he said. “Kids … pick up on the tension and the anxiety. You have to make sure that when the children enter the classroom they’re ready to learn. If a child is misbehaving, you have to look at the why. We really need to educate the whole child … mind, body and spirit.”
He said it was important to have partners to help with the solutions, especially for Catholic schools, which don’t always have professional counselors.
“How grateful I was – Lynn was very, very helpful,” he said.
He said he took the training too; it showed him what teachers were learning and helped him in his job, where “all kinds of problems” are brought to him.
Those trained in the 6 and a half hour course were certified for three years as mental health first aiders, Ms. Lynch said.
As CPR helps keep people alive with oxygen, “we’re keeping people alive by giving them hope,” she said. For example, suicidal students can be told, “What you feel is real, but you don’t have to act on it.”
First aiders can meet some mental health needs in non-crisis situations and can link those in need to professionals in more serious situations, Ms. Lynch explained.
“The goal is to address the issues early on,” she said.
She said she gave course participants a paper or digital copy of the manual “Mental Health First Aid USA: For Adults Assisting Young People,” published by the National Council for Behavioral Health. She also gave out pertinent telephone numbers and websites in Worcester County, and the national suicide prevention hotline number (988).
Deborah O’Neil, principal at St. Bernadette Elementary School in Northborough, said the training raised awareness and gave her teachers tools that will help them respond to students’ needs. The course was also affirming; Catholic schools already address many needs, she said.
“Central to all of this is our Catholic identity,” she said, adding that the school personnel seek to keep students safe in their minds, hearts and bodies, and the training helped them do that.
Mrs. Kursonis said St. Peter’s teachers were “very inspired” by what they learned; it helped them understand students better.
Some St. Peter’s students have exhibited anxiety, depression, eating disorders and cutting themselves, a form of seeking relief, she said.
When staff see signs of these, they gather data and talk to the student and parents, she said. Hiring a part-time counselor for the school helped too.
“Anxiety is probably in the forefront right now,” she said. Some children worried that they or their parents would die from COVID, “so that became the seed for anxiety,” which staff members still see students exhibiting.
Independent of the professional day, eighth-grade student council members saw needs and asked about having more education about mental wellness, Mrs. Kursonis said. So, last winter she involved the whole eighth grade in running Catholic Schools Week activities to promote mental, spiritual and physical wellness.
“Emotion stations” invited students to express in writing or with paper smiling/frowning faces how they feel about different experiences, she said.
Children were given “stress bags” with a ball to squeeze when they are anxious, chocolate “kisses” to show they are loved, and other items.
Lessons in yoga and time for meditation taught about prayer’s calming effect, Mrs. Kursonis said, speaking of activities for spiritual wellness. And students were reminded every day, not just that week, that they are never alone; God is there and they can talk to him.
To promote physical wellness there were lessons about handling emergencies, from calling 911 to doing CPR, she said. Older students and staff who paid for and took CPR training got CPR certification, and some students said this would help them get babysitting jobs.
“The eighth grade rose to the occasion” in organizing the wellness program, which was “very well received by all the kids,” Mrs. Kursonis said.
“The program is expected to grow with feedback from the students and staff.”