Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Mental Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District mental-health coordinators warn of steep decline in teen mental health; board hears prevention plans
Summary
District mental-health coordinators told the Three Rivers School Board that self-reported mental health falls sharply from sixth grade to 11th grade and outlined school-based services, prevention programs and community partnerships to address absenteeism, substance use and declining academic engagement.
On March 11 the Three Rivers School District board heard a detailed presentation from mental-health staff who described troubling survey results for older students and outlined district interventions.
Mandy Delvalio, assistant student services director, introduced the presentation and said it would show why the district is expanding school-based mental-health services. Ellen Johnson, a district mental-health coordinator, told trustees that 2024 survey data show a marked decline in self-reported mental health between sixth and 11th grades: "sixth graders are reporting 19.4% excellent mental health compared to only about 3% of 11th graders," Johnson said, characterizing that change as an alarming drop and a signal for intensified prevention and early intervention efforts.
The coordinators described common clinical presentations in upper grades — anxiety, depressive symptoms, trauma-related stress and increased substance use — and said those factors are linked to absenteeism and falling course performance. The presentation noted district trends in risky behaviors, particularly vaping, and said school staff are using early prevention (SEAL groups and classroom social-emotional learning), targeted interventions and care coordination with community partners, juvenile justice and health providers.
Melissa Howard and other coordinators enumerated practical supports provided on campus: risk and threat assessments, one-on-one counseling pulls, group interventions aimed at building self-regulation and relationship skills, home visits when attendance falls off, and triage into outside services when appropriate. Delvalio stressed that these services are intended to keep students connected to instruction: "We come in and we stop a problem or we at least try to intervene on it and support those kids," she said.
Board members pressed for trend data and program duration. Trustees were told the district phased in mental-health coordinators over several years and now employs six coordinators who operate across schools. Staff committed to bring comparative trend charts and to continue work on prevention, attendance and teacher supports; a request for a fuller historical comparison of the 11th-grade results was made during Q&A.
The presentation closed with the coordinators' stated goals: increased attendance, safer classrooms, improved academic performance and better long-term outcomes for students. The board asked staff to return with supplemental materials for the April 15 meeting.
The hearing included follow-up questions from trustees and a pledge to add deeper trend analysis to a future packet.
