Student Demands for Mental Health Services Are Being Met With New Investments

by Luna Reyna

In May, Seattle's Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) acknowledged the impact on youth mental health of social isolation due to remote learning and gun violence and responded to Seattle students' demands for mental health services with the creation of the Student Mental Health Supports Pilot. In collaboration with schools, students, community organizations, Seattle Public Schools (SPS), and Public Health — Seattle & King County (PHSKC), DEEL selected five pilot schools to receive $125,000 each to implement services through August 2023. Now, up to four additional schools can apply for funding for the fall 2023 school year.

The circumstances — a deadly pandemic and isolation, school shootings, and the resulting shelter-in-place drills — have activated Seattle students and resulted in several student-led protests. Last November, the Seattle Student Union and Ingraham Students Against Gun Violence organized a walkout of thousands of Seattle students. They rallied in front of Seattle City Hall demanding mental health support and gun restrictions after Ebenezer Haile, a student at Ingraham High School, was shot in the back 5 times by another student. In March, the Seattle Student Union and the Alliance for Gun Responsibility organized a rally with students from schools all over Seattle to advocate for bills that restrict gun access and promote firearms-related safety measures and mental health support for students.

"I just want to be honest, and say: We shouldn't even have to be here. … Sure, this is affecting us, but it's not our job to come fight for this," said Franklin High School sophomore Angela Calderon during the rally. "We're literally children, we're supposed to be in school, and it's really not my problem, but guess what, I have to be here because no one else is fighting for us."

Investing in Student Mental Health

In response to student demands, the Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) announced the $4.5 million investment into the student mental health pilot in May serving Aki Kurose Middle School, Rainier Beach High School, Denny Middle School, Chief Sealth High School, and Ingraham High School. Aki Kurose and Denny Middle School are feeder schools that help ensure continuity of support for students that are most in need of services.

The $4.5 million investment from the City for the Student Mental Health Supports pilot is funded through $1.5 million from the voter-approved Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy, $2 million from the Seattle JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax, and $1 million is from the City of Seattle General Fund.

Through listening sessions with students, staff, health experts, community partners, and staff during the pilot program, DEEL learned that each school community's unique student body required tailored services specific to their needs, so services vary from school to school. According to Sage Leibenson, communications advisor for the City of Seattle, DEEL pilot services across schools included:

• Denny Middle School: Clinicians of color at school, and free family counseling referrals to care (Southwest Youth and Family Services; Sound Mental Health); student-led mental health days with outdoor and cultural activities; social-emotional learning (SEL), and trauma-informed and community circle teacher training.

• Chief Sealth High School: Community-based clinicians of color at school providing art therapy and cultural healing strategies during and after school (Esperanza Counseling & Consulting), and on spring break (La Roxay); re-entry case management support focused on reaching disengaged students.

• Rainier Beach High School: School social workers who are trained mental health clinicians; community-based organization youth programming focused on identity development and leadership (The Good Foot Arts Collective); restorative practice circles.

• Aki Kurose Middle School: Clinicians of color at school and student and family referrals to free counseling (Asian Counseling and Referral Services); SEL and youth violence prevention programming (The Good Foot Arts Collective); student and family support workshops; expanded after-school programming relationship building and belonging (Seattle Parks and Recreation), and intramural sports.

• Ingraham High School: School social workers who are trained mental health clinicians, restorative services coordinator; partnerships with community providers (Center for Human Services, Hallowell Todaro, Huayuro), with specialties in trauma-informed mental health care and substance abuse.

Students find out about or are referred to services through supports built into classes, School-Based Health Center referrals or school staff and social workers reach out to students and refer students along with peer-to-peer student recruitment.  

Pilot to Program Expansion

This month DEEL announced the pilot program would be expanding to fund up to three more schools. Cleveland High School, Franklin High School, Garfield High School, and Nathan Hale High School have all been invited to apply. Need was determined through a scoring method that accounts for adverse mental health outcomes like depression and suicidal ideation, lived experiences that can have a negative impact on student mental health, like abuse, homelessness, and community-level violent crime rates, and a school's percentage of BIPOC students and multilingual students who are English Language Learners.

Depending on the cost of their proposal, each school is eligible for an award of between $113,843 and $227,687 per school year, after indirect Seattle Public Schools costs are applied, according to Leibenson.

The five original schools will not apply through the same competitive process as newly eligible schools. They will continue to be funded to ensure continuity of the pilot program and newly implemented services for students, but they are required to and have all submitted investment proposals.

"Addressing the mental health challenges facing our students and young people is one of our top priorities, as they are the future and promise of our city," said Mayor Bruce Harrell in the DEEL release. "Through efforts like the Student Mental Health Supports Pilot, School-Based Health Centers, and the new Reach Out Seattle initiative focused on prevention and early intervention, we will continue to build a comprehensive approach to support the health and well-being of our youth and help them reach their full potential."

Working Together

The new pilot services are being implemented alongside primary medical care and mental health services available at School-Based Health Centers in Seattle, increasing the range of mental health options for students at school. In June, Harrell also announced a new mental health initiative focused on prevention and early intervention.

"Reach Out Seattle is a new City initiative that is meant to complement the pilot program by developing community learning programs for parents, caregivers, and other adults so they have tools and strategies to support a youth experiencing mental or behavioral health challenges," Leibenson said. "The initiative is focused on prevention, early identification, non-clinical interventions, and educational campaigns to break the stigma around mental health."

The pilot expansion to more schools will also expand relationship building among the schools, community-based partners, and other students and families. This expanded learning group will form the Student Mental Health Supports Network according to DEEL's Student Mental Health Needs Assessment Report. DEEL believes that this network will foster community learning and better position schools to bridge the mental health support gaps for BIPOC students and families.

"Students continue to lead the way in advocating for how they want their mental health, safety, and well-being supported at school," said Teresa Mosqueda, Budget Chair and Seattle City Councilmember, Position 8, in the release. "I'm excited to see youth-informed approaches to mental health expanding to serve more students at schools across our city through this investment."

Editors' Note: This story was updated on 08/30/2023 to correct the number of additional schools from 3 to 4 and the needs determination for the pilot.

📸 Featured Image: Photo via SewCream/Shutterstock.com