Mental health education is an important national issue, as mental illness (depression, anxiety, and teen suicide) often begins during the school-age years. As educators, we recognize the impact that a student’s mental health has on learning and realize there’s a great deal that can be done to help students with mental health issues.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a process through which children and adults gain and apply knowledge, attitudes, and skills, which enhance their ability to build confidence, identify, express and regulate their emotions, expand coping skills, and feel and show empathy. The disruption during the pandemic has heightened the importance of SEL competencies to help students cope with challenges, manage stress, make healthy decisions, take collective action, and manage loss and grief.
To address students’ mental health needs, Bay 91Pros will utilize the Sanford Harmony (Pre-K-5), Lion’s Quest (6-12), and Mission B (Pre-K-12) programs to provide social-emotional learning for students, as well as mental health resources for parents and staff.
Sanford Harmony (Pre-K-5)
Sanford Harmony is a social-emotional learning program for Pre-K-6 grade, which is designed to foster communication and understanding, connection, and community both inside and outside the classroom and to encourage students to become compassionate and caring adults.
Lion’s Quest (6-8)
Lion’s Quest is a skill-building program that uses free-standing lessons to promote social and emotional development for students. The program integrates social and emotional learning, character development, drug and bullying prevention, and service-learning for positive youth development. Through a series of developmentally appropriate thematic units and lesson plans, the program helps create a school and classroom environment that promotes positive student behaviors that lead to greater academic success.
Mission B (Pre-K- 12)
Mission B aims to improve children’s academic and life success by building their skills of stress-management, inner-resilience, emotional regulation, and executive control, as well as their overall physical and emotional well-being. The curriculum helps students cultivate empathy and compassion towards themselves and others, thereby helping to create safer and more nurturing school climates.