The First Twelve Minutes: Supports for Students with More Intensive Needs

Christine Mason, CEI Executive Director, Alison Sumski, Research Assistant, and Victoria Romero, Author

This is the second article in a series of HeartMind eNews articles focused on helping students start their mornings on a positive note. Previously, we covered the importance of supporting students in the transition from summer vacation to the start of the school year. This month, we focus on how counselors might connect with teachers and other staff to enhance morning routines for students with more challenging needs. 

Most students can ‘flip the switch’ from summer to fall without a second thought. But, there are some students who will struggle to return to the classroom, and others who won’t want their school day to start at all. You’ve seen these students: while their classmates laugh over a shared summer memory, they might stand nearby looking lost in thought. Or, they may appear loud and boisterous so as to make their presence known. What’s one way we can take care of the students who can’t just ‘flip the switch’ and be present in the classroom so easily?

The First Twelve Minutes

Beneath every face, whether smiling or sullen, there is a student who may need emotional support. Sarah, for example, is returning to school after being arrested for possession of marijuana. Nicole is still reeling from the loss of her mother during the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago. Jesse is coming back to school after attempting to take his own life. Jose was diagnosed with ADHD and has an IEP with behavioral interventions, and Ha Joon is battling an eating disorder that no one knows about. 

If you’re a parent or an educator, you’re likely wondering how to address all of these individual needs at once. It’s true that each of these students has distinct worries, but they also have feelings in common, such as dread, anxiety, and a sense that they’ll be judged. In Compassionate School Practices (Mason et al., 2021), we discuss protective factors that build student resilience. A significant protective factor for a child is an adult who can provide unconditional support. With an adult like this, school instantly becomes a safe and consistent place for learning and developing social competencies.

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K-12 and Mental Health: Evidence-Based Ways to Support Students This School Year

Nicole R. Benquechea, CEI Social Media Specialist

If you asked educators and parents what they worry about the most, you might not be surprised by the common concern that’s on their minds: student mental health. After all, youth mental health is one of six of U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Muthy’s ‘priority areas’ (Office of the Surgeon General, 2021), and the number of adolescents reporting poor mental health is increasing, with suicide rates at an all-time high (CDC, 2021). Still, most schools don’t have a cohesive strategy for individual or schoolwide mental health needs. In fact, according to the National Center on Education Statistics, only half of American public schools can effectively provide mental health services for students who need it (Department of Education, 2022). 

Despite this heavy news, there is a bright spot. Students are seeking help more than in the past, and it turns out that they want their school to play a big part in the services that they receive. Interestingly, even though teens want to open up about their mental health, they’re not likely to initiate the conversation themselves (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2022), possibly because they worry about confidentiality and trusting an unknown person (Radez et al., 2020). When teens were polled about who they might seek out for mental health information, 80% said that they would feel comfortable going to a teacher or another adult at their school. Familiarity and trust are paramount for teens to reach out; this makes school an ideal setting for effective mental health education and intervention. Here, we outline an evidence-based approach to school connectedness that highlights three groups: school staff, families, and community members. 

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Cultural Identity as a Protective Factor

Hallie Williams, CEI Research Assistant

Schools today are filled with children and youth from many places around the world. Our schools include students raised in poverty and in wealth; children from urban, suburban, and rural settings; and youth whose families have lived in one community for generations as well as recent immigrants or families who are transient or newcomers.  

There are many factors that combine to create unique circumstances for each community. Given this diversity, teachers are faced with the enormous task of helping all children to feel that they belong and are welcomed at their school. How can teachers be more responsive to the needs of children and families, and particularly those who may find a school to be a strange, new, and perhaps even intimidating, environment? 

To answer these questions, let’s begin by focusing on children and families who despite having been in the U.S. a long time have been marginalized – Indigenous youth and their families. 

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