Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Toronto schools will get mental health training

Toronto schools will get mental health training

Four-year strategy will be announced today by the TDSB

CBC News Posted: Jan 28, 2014 7:42 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 28, 2014 5:42 PM ET
The country’s biggest school board has promised training to all teaching staff in relation to mental-health issues as part of a new strategy to help students.

These new initiatives created to help students facing mental health issues and foster "mental well-being" were unveiled today by the Toronto District School Board.
According to the board, "one in five children experience mental well-being issues. This statistic translates into approximately 40,000 students in the TDSB."
In order to deal with this, the board has created a new four-year strategy called Healthy Schools. Healthy Relationships. Children and Youth Mental Health and Well-Being.
  • All school staff will receive professional development and training on mental health issues.
  • All schools in the district will have mental-health well-being teams consisting of teachers, students and community members in order to foster support.
  • By June 2014, there will be a 50 per cent increase in the number of secondary schools engaged in anti-stigma initiatives.
  • More support will be given to students and teachers
  • There will be an ongoing and enhanced form of communication between parents/guardians and the school.
"[T]here's a direct link between the availability of social, emotional, psychological and physical supports and student achievement," the TDSB website reads. "In a world where we cannot keep our students immune from all sorts of challenges, making sure we pay attention when they are struggling is a must for educators."

1 comment:

  1. Toronto should first ask why there's an epidemic of mental health issues in the first place. If schools want to sincerely help their students as they claim, they should start by removing the number one environmental hazard from their classrooms. EMF can have a devastating effect on brain chemistry by altering the levels of serotonin, nor-epinephrine, melatonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, etc. Frying students with WiFi and then acting like they're concerned about their mental well-being is shocking! The adverse biological effects of wireless radiation has be known and well documented for decades
    http://www.magdahavas.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Navy_Radiowave_Brief.pdf

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