School and mental health are strongly linked together, senior Ryan Ashley said. If one area is in need of help, for example, if someone is having difficulties with their mental health, that may impact their academic health, he explained.

The Oracle Editorial Board urges staff, students, and the student services department to increase open communication in order to take advantage of the mental health resources that South offers.

As the mental health of students has become increasingly important, many schools across the United States have taken steps to offer mental health assistance to students. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, as of 2022, 96 percent of schools offer mental health services to students. Although these services are provided at numerous schools, including South, navigating these provided resources and getting access to help can be challenging for students.
While there are steps put in place to increase the communication between the Student Services department and students, the Editorial Board feels that the betterment of this communication should be a priority, as students are sometimes unaware of the resources available to them. There is also discomfort with the parameters of mental health policies, such as mental health days.
Students get five mental health days a year, Esser said. The reason that students are responsible for making up the work is so that they do not fall behind in their classes, Canchola explained. If someone is really struggling with their mental health, there are instances in which they can be exempted from some assignments, Canchola said.

“It is important for students to try to make up that work [from the mental health day] so that they don’t feel so lost in the curriculum and whatever the lesson is,” Canchola said.

While learning missed material is important, The Editorial Board believes that mental health days should serve as a break for students from the pressures of school suggesting that staff provide additional time and support to students after they take a mental health day. A possible solution could be allowing students a one-week grace period to make up for work missed during a student’s mental health day, so that day taken can reduce stress rather than add to it.
“If the school environment is causing mental health issues, the mental health days are supposed to help you get away from that,” Wray said.

South has opportunities for students to talk to a professional therapist, stationed in the Glenbrook Health Center, Williams said. And while South offers plenty of help, this resource should be expressed and advertised a bit more to the students, Ray said.
The Student Services department is working to better its communication, despite prevention methods already existing and being known of, Aracely Canchola, Assistant Principal of Student Services, said. At a time when teen’s mental health is reportedly declining, according to cdc.gov, it is vital that South not only provides mental health resources, as it already does so, but expresses those resources in a way so that students know that they do have help, and how to access it.
At South, there are various ways for a student to reach out for help, social worker Alan Esser, said. Students can set up an appointment, walk down to the Student Services department, or teachers can refer them, Esser added. However, the Student Services department acknowledges a need for improvement with teachers recognizing when their students are struggling mentally, Esser said. Teachers are a vital part of students’ mental health, Esser acknowledged, so the department is implementing sessions known as “lunch and learns” to educate South’s staff on signs of a student in need, Esser explained.
While teachers are an important key to finding the solution to supporting students’ mental health, we need to have more communication between students and psychologists. If the school wants to put in place preventative measures it starts with small things, like giving students a break during their mental health days by allowing extra time to finish up work.
The mental health day policy is not a sufficient solution to students’ well-being, freshman James Wray said. This is because it is only a temporary fix, not addressing the core of students’ mental health issues, whatever they may be, Wray explained.
“I don’t think that [the mental health day policy is] very effective,” Wray said. “Is it really a mental health day if you then have to spend the day making up work and doing missing homework?”
It is imperative that students feel comfortable expressing to teachers that they are struggling, or need to see a psychologist. It is with the destigmatization and collaboration between students and staff can South truly support students’ mental health needs.
“[Teachers] are on the frontlines,” Esser said. “Teachers are noticing different things that [Student Services] would not know down in this hallway. [For example], increased attendance concerns, or if [students are] falling asleep in class, so we rely on [teachers] to be some of our biggest advocates.”