Funding mental health and student well-being
Immediately after the Marshall Fire, mental health professionals from surrounding school districts came to BVSD to work with impacted students and families. During this time, it became apparent that providing students with ongoing mental health support during the school day was the most effective way for Impact on Education to support their recovery.
Since January 2022 we’ve worked closely with BVSD staff to continue providing this additional level of support, which includes:
- providing funding for four additional BVSD Mental Health Advocates (MHAs)
- supporting the creation of BVSD’s first high school Wellness Center.
BVSD’s first wellness center
At Monarch High School, where 1 in 10 students was impacted by the Marshall Fire, a Wellness Center was created to support students in August 2022. Staffed by a full-time counselor, the Wellness Center provides students a safe place to recharge and speak with a trained professional during the school day.
Wellness Center Impact
August – December 2022
- 4,000 total student visits
- 585 individual students visited (38% of students)
- 62% female, 27% male, 11% non-binary students
- 17% seniors, 22% juniors, 30% sophomores,
- 31% freshman students
- 30% special education students
How Mental Health Advocates are supporting students and families
Mental Health Advocates (MHAs) focus exclusively on mental and behavioral health, supplementing what BVSD school counselors can provide. Within BVSD, MHAs:
- provide support for social- emotional and behavioral development, student achievement and crisis intervention
- provide both group and individual counseling support and work directly with students, parents, and staff members
- help families access external resources, including making appropriate referrals to community partners
The intensity of mental health concerns and the time required to provide support and intervention varies dramatically from case to case. The additional MHAs ensure the schools impacted by the Marshall Fire have the intensive layer of mental health support needed, and expand the district’s capacity to respond to mental health needs.
Mental Health Advocate Impact
August – December 2022
- 1,238 individual student contacts
- 541 consults
- 272 family consults for supports
- 76 students received crisis support
Our funding priorities
Impact on Education is committed to providing an elevated level of mental health support for all students, especially those affected by the Marshall Fire. Meeting these three goals would allow us to serve 11,698 students at 12 schools across BVSD:
- Scaling the Wellness Center program by replicating the model to offer it at 5 BVSD high schools
- Retaining four MHAs supporting through the 2023-24 school year
- Providing mental health training and educational resources for students, families, and staff
Join us to ensure students have mental health supports available during the school day.
BEFORE YOU GO …
Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 29,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.
