Student Melanie Garcia (left) interacts with Wellness Center staff members Daisy Urizal (center) and Anglerik Guzman (right) at Monroe Middle School on Thursday, February 14, 2024 in San Jose, California. Club/Bay Area News Group)
Sophia, an eighth-grader at Monroe Middle School in San Jose, was trying to get through her first class, but she was anxious and restless. She couldn’t concentrate in the lesson and she was worried that she would get upset and cause a scene.
So she asked her teacher for permission to leave the room and headed down the hall to the wellness center for a 15-minute break. Here, the lights were dimmed, soft piano music played, and counselors were on hand. She could vent her feelings on the punching bag in her corner, play with kinetic sand, or paint for the art wall.
Sophia sat at her bracelet making station. Her tension and anxiety began to ease.
“Coming here and having my own space and having my own time helps me calm down and then I’m ready to go back,” Sophia said. She asked that her last name not be used.
The space is one of 19 wellness centers at elementary, middle and high schools in Santa Clara County, giving students a place to de-stress and learn coping skills to get through the day. And it’s part of a growing trend as Bay Area school districts look to different strategies to address the staggering crisis affecting young people across the country.
A 10-year study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in 2021 found that nearly 30% of teens experience worsening mental health each month, and more than 40% report ongoing feelings of sadness. It turned out that I had a. The 2019 pandemic exacerbated the problem.
“With segregation and school closures, we were already seeing an alarming increase in social anxiety, mass anxiety, early signs of depression, and increased suicide rates,” Santa Clara County Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan said in a statement. ” he said. “We saw this as an even bigger opportunity to ensure schools are centers of wellness.”
Students can stop by the center before, during or after class or sign up for therapy sessions. Each space is designed to be a “Zen Den,” a calming environment where students can focus on their health by participating in self-care and relaxation.
School staff lead a variety of activities, from bringing therapy animals to campus to rock painting and yoga classes. If children need to talk to an adult, they will provide guidance.
“A lot of kids have this perception that school is completely useless. I think the Wellness Center will help them understand how school actually serves you.” said Daisy Urizal Esquivel, wellness center liaison at Monroe Middle School in San Jose.
Teachers also benefit from these spaces. Now, when kids need time to reset, they can be sent to a safe, supervised space without getting into trouble for running out of class or potentially disrupting class.
“Adults should be able to take a break when they feel stressed, right? Therefore, students should be able to take a break when they are feeling stressed, anxious, or not feeling well. makes sense,” said Angelique Guzman, a Wellness Center specialist at Monroe College.
Since the first center opened in fall 2021, more than 10,000 students have already visited the center by fall 2022, and more than 97% of visitors said they would like to come again.
While wellness centers have been successful in Santa Clara County, the East Bay is trying other methods to ease the mental health burden on students.
At Oakland Unified, students voluntarily record their emotional state in online check-ins. Each week, students in Kindergarten through 12th grade log into the student portal from their mobile phones or school computers and click on the Sown to Grow platform. The program screens for mental health issues by encouraging children to answer how they’re feeling that day and why on a scale of 1 to 5.
This online resource uses AI to thoroughly examine student reactions and flag any alarming findings, such as suicidal thoughts or tendencies toward self-harm, to teachers and school counselors. Consistently low child responsiveness also provokes a reaction from the school administration.
Students can track their reactions week-to-week and see if they have had mood swings or if their mental health has improved. So far, more than 80% of her Oakland Unified schools have implemented the new tool.
Mental health experts said students’ health would improve if schools could spot and treat early signs of mental illness.
“Schools are trying to identify at-risk children, reach them as needed, and connect them to mental health services,” said Dr. Michelle Burke, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. “This is a very important window of opportunity.” University. “Having more resources, making it easier for children to access, and reducing the stigma around accessing those services all go a long way.”
In late January, Kaiser Permanente authorized Oakland Unified to spend $9 million over the next three years on school health centers, social-emotional learning initiatives and mental health testing at 77 schools in the district. The district has also started a peer mentorship program that allows upperclassmen to mentor freshmen and sophomores.
Last year, then-sophomore Jose Alcantar struggled to maintain his grades at Oakland High School, so he went to the library after school and helped other students until he felt confident enough to participate in class again. I made it my daily routine to get it.
This year, he became a peer mentor because he wanted to be the kind of student others could look to for advice. Alcantar meets with his students three days a week after school and provides guidance on anything that concerns his mentees, including academic challenges, family issues, mental health issues, and more.
“It can be difficult for some children to feel comfortable talking to someone about their problems,” he says. “Being from Oakland, it’s clear that there are students here who are struggling, and it’s nice to know we can help. As students, we interact with other students more than adults.”
