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Adeline, Howard MS Student: Hi, I'm Adeline.

Crosby, Howard MS Student: And I'm Crosby. We're with Howard Middle School.

Adeline, Howard MS Student: And in Orange County Public Schools, there are a lot of people who care about you.

Crosby, Howard MS Student: And your well-being. Check us out.

Announcer: Presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's our OCPS superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Dr. Vazquez: Hi, everyone. Today we are talking about mental health support and resources for our students. With me today is Ericka Scheid, Senior Director of Student Services, and two members of our mental health services team, Karla Hadley and Mary Ann Anderson. Thank you for being here. Thank you for having us. The topic of mental health has come up repeatedly during my student town halls over the last couple of years. And it's very important for all of us to be aware of some of the resources and district-wide supports that we have in place to address some of these mental health issues. So, Ericka, why don't you start by talking to us about the district-wide initiatives we have in place? 

Ericka Scheid, Senior Director of Student Services: Of course. Thank you. So we heard loud and clear that the students wanted more supports around mental health. So we did implement some initiatives. Two years ago, I think it was one of your pushes was Connectivity Day. So, providing an opportunity during the school day for students to participate and feel connected and that they belong to the school. And that really helped them find peers like themselves and some commonalities. We also have Resiliency Day, which is two days, September and February of every year, where students just learn about student well-being and how to be resilient. And then we also have some newer initiatives where we have a community partner that is partnering with our coaches, with our athletics, and they are providing mental health training to our athletic directors and our athletic training coordinators.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, there's so much pressure our students are facing today than when I was growing up or even when I was raising my own children. So, Carla, can you dive a little bit deeper into the counseling services that we have available at our schools?

Karla Hadley, Director of Mental Health Services: Sure. We provide tiered support for our students with counseling. We start at tier one where we focus on prevention and skill building. And we do that through resiliency instruction, classroom lessons focused on teen safety matters and child safety matters, as well as school-wide initiatives to help students build resilience.

Dr. Vazquez: So, tier one is like everybody, right? Is everybody getting that? Okay. 

Karla Hadley: With students who need a little more support, we offer tier two, more targeted support - Yeah. Through group or individualized counseling. And we focus on specific skills such as coping, anxiety, or problem-solving skills. And for those students who have a little bit more significant challenges, we offer tier three support with our licensed mental health professionals. And those people include our licensed mental health counselors, our school social workers, as well as our school psychologist. And those individuals work with our community agencies to make sure our students and our families have the supports needed for their well-being, as well as for them to be successful in the classroom.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. I'm really glad that you mentioned all of our community partners because we, we can't do it alone. Absolutely. And there are some incredible resources that we have in our community that not just our students, but families can take advantage of. Absolutely. So, resources- that's going to bring me to you. So, you have an incredible website, right, at www.ocps.net. Could you share with families, if they go on our website and click on the link, what would they find?

Maryann Anderson, Senior Administrator of Mental Health Services: Yes. Thank you. So, on ocps.net, as Dr. Vazquez said, if you scroll up on the landing page, you will see a brain that says, and underneath it says mental health supports. And if you click on that, tons of resources about our team, talking about the services that our licensed mental health counselors provide, counseling within the schools. Also, there is information on mental health, well-being, and suicide prevention. We also have information on the resiliency curriculum, which is a state-mandated curriculum that we do with the students twice a year, which Karla had mentioned. In addition to that, we also have information on the crisis line. So we have 988, which is a suicide crisis line. We also have mobile crisis, which is two, otherwise known as 211.

Maryann Anderson: It's the same thing. And then there's also a crisis text line. If someone was struggling and they just wanted to text, they could do that. Other resources: there is the Parent Hub where we have OCPS supports, which is an initiative that is led by our social services team, as well as Community Connect, which I consider to be sort of like a directory of resources within Central Florida. So not just for mental health; it could be for housing, food, insufficiency, things like that. And then also some information on Zillow, which is probably something that a lot of our listeners are aware of. And then if a parent wanted to dive a little bit more into the resiliency curriculum, there are more extensive lessons that are shown on there that they could kind of take a look at.

Dr. Vazquez: So, go to www.ocps.net. Find the brain and click. I love it. I'll, I'm going to remember that. Okay, great. Okay. So, it's very important for our parents to be cognizant of mental health, especially with their child. And depending on their age, it can be a little bit more difficult to decipher whether it is a thing of the stage they're going through or whether it's something they need to be concerned about. So, could each of you share a tip for our families about things that maybe they should do or something that, if they see, might be a trigger: "I need to look into this or do a little bit more." Do you want to start? 

Ericka Scheid: Yeah, of course. I think the first thing is just having that open line of communication, especially as kids get older - Yes. They tend not to want to talk to their family, their parents especially. So, having that open line of communication, allowing your child to tell you something without being judged, I think that's really the most important thing. It's okay for the student, their child, to say, "I'm not okay. I want you to know that I'm not okay," so that the parent can provide that support to them.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. Open lines of communication. And sometimes that can be very difficult - Yes. Or challenging, but parents don't give up. 

Karla Hadley: Yeah, absolutely. And also, along those lines, if your child does open up and state they need assistance, or if you notice a change in their behavior and they're not acting the way they normally do, be sure to reach out to your school counselor or your school-based social worker, and they will be able to assist you with services for your child and give your child someone to talk to.

Maryann Anderson: And, kind of to your point about how do you know if this is like sort of typical or atypical, really looking at duration and frequency. So when you notice a change in behavior and you understand what their sort of baseline is, what their normal is, , you know, is, are they getting angry or more? Are they sort of retreating from friends and things that they love? And those are probably signs that something's going on, at least to be able to ask. And even if they say that they don't want to talk about it right now, we really say, you know, sort of set it up so that they know that they can come to you when they're ready, but also just sort of maintaining that relationship and communication.

Dr. Vazquez: Before we close, I know many times the discovery that a child is not doing well comes by way of a peer, right? They're at school at lunch and one of them says something alarming, maybe that they have thought about doing self-harm or they're in a chat group and something is, is posted. And I know sometimes there's this angst that they don't want to be the one telling about, you know, their friend. Can we talk, just as we close, about how students, really anyone, can report anonymously if there's a concern?

Maryann Anderson: Yes. On our webpage, there's also an icon for Fortify Florida, which is an anonymous reporting platform where students can go on and they don't have to give their name, but they can talk about what their concern is. And it is the, all the reports are followed up, and they will contact the student, the child that is being mentioned, to make sure that they're doing well. Yeah.

Dr. Vazquez: And the important thing is that it's anonymous. And anyone can go in, and I can attest that they follow through on all of them. And, you know, in some cases, we have been able to connect that child with resources that really averted a tragedy. Thank you so much. Such an important conversation, incredible information and tips that you have provided to our viewers. So, thank you for being here. Thank you for joining me today. Coming up on the podcast: Signs and Symptoms to Look for If Your Child Is Struggling. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe. Have a wonderful week.

Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic, listen to the Mondays with Maria Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step on your financial journey. Learn more at Additionfi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice.ocps.net. I'm your announcer, Jamir Jones, a student at OCVS. Thanks for watching, and have a great week.