While good grades and attendance are important, Flin Flon’s high schools are reaching beyond those traditional benchmarks to make mental wellness a top priority.
Administrators from Hapnot Collegiate and Many Faces Education Centre have implemented a multi-pronged approach designed to foster strong mental health among students.
Brent Bedford, principal of both schools, said the aim is two-fold: help students stave off mental health problems in the first place while ensuring students who do need help receive it.
The schools have hired a coordinator to research the mental health system, how to navigate it and how it affects the schools.
From that research, the schools plan to develop mental health lessons that will be incorporated into classroom learning.
Other school initiatives include promoting healthy activities, having mental health professionals speak to classes, and identifying students who require mental health supports and providing access to them.
The schools also offer outdoor education and yoga programs. Both activities have been shown to strengthen mental wellbeing.
Beyond mental wellness, Hapnot and Many Faces have set three other primary goals for 2015-16: increase attendance for at-risk students, promote vocational education, and improve literacy and numeracy skills.
To boost attendance, the schools are utilizing support staff, including a family liaison worker, among other measures. As a last resort, Bedford said, staff conduct home visits.
It is also hoped that the launch of a lunch program this year will help bring at-risk students to school more often. Previously the schools operated only a breakfast program.
In terms of vocational education, the schools offer trades courses and related education.
Among the options is CVE, a long-running course that lets students earn credits by working at an actual job.
Improved literacy and numeracy is a goal mandated by the government, but Bedford said this is not a new objective for Hapnot and Many Faces.
“We kind of thought, how could you not have that as goals in your school?” he said.
The specific goal is to have 95 per cent of all students at or above grade level for literacy and numeracy, as measured by the CAT IV standardized test and/or classroom assessments.
Bedford and vice-principal Patty Korchinski outlined the schools’ efforts during a presentation to the Flin Flon school board this past Tuesday, Nov. 24.
