PAPSA Executive Board Secretary Jeanne Knouse, Director of Student Services for the State College Area School District (SCASD), was one of the featured educators in a recent WPSU story on school safety and mental well-being. In that story, Knouse stressed the importance of  teaching and practicing mental health skills. She also explained how SCASD school administrators have spearheaded educating students about mental health.

At SCASD, school counselors teach the basics of mental well-being like other school subjects are taught. “It has started with building into curriculum, building into awareness, building in some capacity to actually provide service within the school,” Knouse said. “Then, actually evaluating students and finding out where they are and how we can help them.”

According to the article, schools across the country are putting more effort into ensuring students’ mental well-being in order to benefit learning and growth, and also in response to the prevalence of school violence.  A Center for Disease Control (CDC) study has shown that between 2007 and 2017, the percentage of U.S. high school students who experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness rose by three percent and the number of students who seriously considered attempting suicide rose to one in six, numbers that the CDC say are significant and indicate problems that must be effectively addressed. That is exactly what the SCASD is attempting to do.