“Schools have the largest opportunity to help children be successful,” says guest Jennifer Parker, Ph.D, LPC. K-12 students are experiencing higher levels of anxiety, depression, and trauma than ever before. The need for school mental health resources is more urgent than ever and not just from counselors, it takes a whole-school approach to effectively address student mental health. As the Director of Child, Youth and Family Initiatives for the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM), Parker talks from first-hand experience about the types of mental health risks students today are dealing with and how schools can create learning environments where social and emotional skills are at the center of academic achievement.

WARNING: This episode contains a description of sexual violence / assault involving a minor. Please be advised.

Resources

• Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) (learnwithsam.org)
• The Future of K-12 Education contact form: Contact Us Here!