The Halton District School Board serves about 60,000 students each school year. However, 1 in 5 of those students will experience a mental health issue during their time at school. This can become a major barrier to their learning and success. The Halton District School Board is working hard to bring these problems out into the open, promote positive mental health, and ensure that everyone knows how to access the services they need.

Christy Peterson is the mental health lead for the Halton District School Board. Her role is to create a mental health strategy for the board and promote positive mental health in our schools. Christy Peterson: So one of our target areas from the mental health and addiction strategy is increasing mental health literacy for students, staff, and families, which means knowing what mental health is, that it's a positive state of being, but also being able to recognize those early signs and symptoms.

Christy Peterson: Typically, we default to an intervention standpoint or an illness model. We need to understand, especially within the education sector, that a lot of work can be done with intention around promotion and prevention, so that when kids do display those worrisome behaviors, our frontline staff can navigate those kids to the services to meet their needs. Changes in student behavior can be a teacher's early warning sign of mental health problems.

These indicators can include missing class, taking a longer time to complete assignments, or not completing them at all. Christy Peterson: Aggressive behavior or increased risk taking, and withdrawing from peer groups and activities they previously enjoyed. Christy Peterson: Our teachers have an incredibly important role in this work because they see those kids every day.

They have a good understanding of those baseline behaviors. They know normative behavior for that age group, and so they can be our first line of defense and our first identifiers when a problem starts to percolate. Christy Peterson: Mental health and well-being requires a whole school and community approach to help students in need.

Christy Peterson: Mike Butt is a student success teacher. His role is to help students overcome any obstacles they're facing and keep them on the path to success in the classroom. Mike Butt: It's a huge range of reasons why a student might be unsuccessful in class. Christy Peterson: Students who are struggling with depression, maybe there's things going at home, maybe it's just understanding the material.

Christy Peterson: Really the one that's popping up a lot right now is anxiety. There's a real sort of range in the anxiety from feeling kind of worried about a test maybe to things that are much more personal and much more sort of severe. Christy Peterson: The top three mental health concerns identified in schools in the Halton District School Board are anxiety, social and relational issues, and ADD and ADHD.

Christy Peterson: I'm a part of lots of different conversations, conversations with students, conversations with social workers, conversations with guidance counselors, conversations with teachers, conversations with parents. I think my responsibility is to really try to keep as many of those people as possible on the same page and to keep us all focused on what makes sense for that student moving forward. Christy Peterson: In 2011, Ontario's Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Child Youth Services created a strategy called Open Minds, Healthy Minds to transform the mental health system.

Christy Peterson: The Halton District School Board has responded to this plan by creating health development strategies to help students fully engage in their learning and to promote positive mental health. Christy Peterson: Nikki McCallum is a child and youth counselor. Her role is to collaborate with school staff and parents to support students who are struggling with social, emotional, emotional, and behavioral challenges.

Christy Peterson: So, what's stressing you out? Christy Peterson: Like, school. Christy Peterson: So, CYCs, or otherwise known as child and youth counselors, are assigned to every elementary school in the Halton District School Board. Christy Peterson: I'd say in elementary school, a lot of the students haven't necessarily been identified with a mental health diagnosis, so a lot of it is the school staff trying to identify what the concerns are.

Christy Peterson: Things like the student looking sad in the classroom or appearing very anxious, having difficulty concentrating, difficulty doing their school work, even some basic needs aren't being met around healthy eating or taking care of themselves. Christy Peterson: As a child and youth counselor, she was part of the mental health leadership team who created the Pathway to Care document. Christy Peterson: The Pathway to Care document is available to school staff and parents.

It's available actually in hard copy and online. Christy Peterson: We put that document together because often we would hear that people don't know where to go for help. Christy Peterson: So, that committee worked tirelessly gathering information about resources and it definitely would be a good starting point for accessing resources internally and in the community.

Christy Peterson: Parents play a vital role by helping to identify significant changes in their son or daughter's mood, behavior, or thinking. Christy Peterson: As a parent who has children in the Halton District School Board, I have found over the years how important it is to relate with the teachers and with the admin staff at the school and let them know that as parents we rely upon them for any assistance or guidance if there are any issues concerning our children. Christy Peterson: When my daughter was in grade 8, there was an issue with social media where a boy in the class had found an app where he could send messages and these messages were of a sexual nature without the children knowing who was sending them and it happened to my daughter and a friend of hers.

Christy Peterson: It was very unsettling. Christy Peterson: The girls were very emotionally distraught. Christy Peterson: However, they went right away to the principal and to the staff and brought their concern forward. Christy Peterson: The principal was very quick to action and it just made me believe as a parent that I need to get more involved and be able to tell other parents how much help there is for their children.

Christy Peterson: We all have to work together because we all actually have the same bottom goal and that is for all of our children to be successful as they go through the school system. Christy Peterson: Students are already working together to create a safe and inclusive school environment. Christy Peterson: The Halton District School Board offers many opportunities to help minimize bullying and to de-stigmatize mental health issues.

Christy Peterson: Some of these programs and clubs include the following: Christy Peterson: Right to play. Christy Peterson: Safe Schools Action Team. Christy Peterson: Children's Mental Health Week. Christy Peterson: Restorative Practice. Christy Peterson: Pink Shirt Day. Christy Peterson: Collaborative Problem Solving.

Christy Peterson: Link Crew. Christy Peterson: We all have a role to play to increase mental health awareness, to help identify early signs and symptoms, and to provide students with a clear pathway to care. Christy Peterson: We all have a role to play. Christy Peterson: To access the mental health strategy, pathway to care document, and all other mental health resources, please visit the mental health site at myhdsb.ca. Christy Peterson: Simply google "mental health" in the search function for a direct link. Christy Peterson: Thank you.