Schools

MENTAL HEALTH: IT'S PART OF OUR CLASSROOMS.

Serious emotional disturbances (SEDs) affect about 5 to 9 percent of teenagers in America. This means that SEDs—diagnosable disorders in children and adolescents that severely disrupt daily functioning—affect about one in 15 teens or, on average, two students in every high school classroom.

Growing evidence shows that when schools address mental health issues they can boost academic achievement, reduce absenteeism, and increase graduation rates.

To help schools reap these benefits, the EBI has developed a variety of materials. These include a guide for school administrators, a teacher training package, and several other tools, all designed to help educators make mental health a part of their classrooms.

Eliminating Barriers for Learning: An Administrator's Guide

This brief booklet invites school administrators to use the teacher training package developed by the EBI. It explains how the training package can help teachers and schools achieve their academic objectives and provides the practical information administrators need to implement the training.

Eliminating Barriers for Learning: Social and Emotional Factors That Enhance Secondary Education

The training package consists of four modules, each with a trainer's outline and trainer's notes, slides, and handouts. The modules aim to:

• Increase knowledge of adolescent mental health, including risks and protective factors
• Show teachers and staff how to develop an action plan to help students who need additional support
• Suggest ways to promote a mentally healthy learning environment through instructional techniques that take into account individual differences and the classroom climate
• Help staff identify school and community resources and partnerships to promote youth mental health

Like most forms of inservice education and professional development training, Eliminating Barriers for Learning emphasizes knowledge and skill development.