When Mark Sass has a parent-teacher conference these days, the discussion often isn’t immediately focused on grades. It’s focused on wellbeing. “We need to lead with that mental health concern before we jump into the academics,” said Sass, a part-time social studies teacher at Legacy High School in Broomfield who also runs the Colorado branch […]
mental health in Colorado schools
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
Tired of being muted, Colorado kids are starting their own conversations on mental health and racial justice
Carmen Rodriquez has long been quiet about the day-to-day challenges she experiences living with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Slowly, she’s started to open up about the stubborn struggles they’ve created for her life as she’s found ways to cope. “Personally, I have been through a lot with mental health struggles, and only recently, in this […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, Health, News
Coronavirus is triggering a range of emotions in Colorado kids
Shepard Schneider isn’t really scared of the coronavirus. “I’m worried for, like, my grandpa and my grandmas and stuff, but that’s really it,” said the 10-year-old Denver resident. But COVID-19 is affecting the fifth grader at Palmer Elementary School in other ways. “Sometimes I’m inside too much, so I get really anxious and I start getting […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Education, Health, Politics and Government
Colorado’s trailblazing Safe2Tell system needs significant upgrades, lawmakers say
Two decades ago, in the wake of the Columbine school shooting, Colorado officials created the Safe2Tell anonymous tip line to help prevent more school massacres. The system set a standard for prevention efforts, one replicated across the nation. But now, lawmakers and mental health experts think Colorado’s system needs a significant upgrade to address an […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
One school social worker quelled a girl’s suicidal thoughts. Colorado hopes a lot more of them can provide a lasting solution.
OAK CREEK — Colorado lawmakers in the last legislative session committed more state money to behavioral health staffing in schools, hoping to help more students like a 15-year-old Routt County girl who credits the social worker at her school with saving her life. The teen says she is a survivor of sexual assault that so […]