In recent years, the mental health of children has become a pressing issue in schools as they face a variety of stressors including academic pressure, social challenges and personal problems.
As a result, state officials have agreed to provide Beaver County Schools with more than $1 million to help improve school safety and mental health for students and staff.
State Rep. Rob Matzee (D-16th District), who represents Harmony Township, announced on April 26 that approximately $1.2 million in grant funding will be awarded to 10 school districts in Beaver County. He said these funds will help improve school safety and expand mental health resources for students in the area.
The funding is the final part of a $155 million School Safety Grant Program package allocated in the bipartisan 2023-24 budget issued by the School Safety and Security Committee.
“Children deserve to spend their days at school learning, building confidence and discovering their capabilities, and this approximately $1.2 million in new funding will ensure they do so in the safest and most secure environment possible,” Matzee said in a statement in April. “We have worked hard to ensure these grant programs are fully funded because we know these funds will support one of our most important priorities: ensuring students and school staff are safe and free to focus on the business of learning and teaching.”
As part of the funding, Hopewell Area School District will receive a $166,517 grant to support mental health resources and overall security in schools. Hopewell Area Superintendent Jeff Beltz said the district will spend $122,000 in schools to provide psychological services through its prevention network.
Beltz said the district offers several programs to help students with mental health issues. From counseling sessions to therapy dogs, he said these programs can be extremely helpful in building coping skills and teaching students short-term escape methods to reduce the stress they’re currently under.
“It’s important for people to be aware of children’s mental health and safety, and if we can help curb future mental health issues, I think that will increase the chances that children will be successful in the future and ultimately help make schools safer,” Beltz said.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released in February found that the percentage of male and female students experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness has increased from 2011 to 2021, by 18% for men and 8% for women. Additionally, the survey found that 29% of high school students reported having a bad mental health condition in the past 30 days.
Beltz said that as part of the grant, Hopewell also hopes to continue working with Prevention Network, a local group of counseling professionals who provide services one day a week. Prevention Works serves about 28 school districts in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Jeremy Angus, president and CEO of Prevention Network and Class Academy, said mental health is crucial for students, explaining how mental health and stress can make it hard for students to focus on their schoolwork. Prevention Network aims to reduce stress in school.
“If your mental health is an issue, you can’t learn, and if your behavior is an issue, you can’t sit in a classroom and learn,” he says, “so building positive, active relationships in the school environment, where students feel heard and supported, is probably one of the most important things we do.”
Although mental health is crucial to Angus, he explains that the most common issue students face is families not being able to relate to their children, and families are quick to ignore the mental health of their students. His organisation faces these external barriers that make it difficult for students to balance their studies and life.
A 2021 survey found that one in 14 children aged 0-17 have a parent who reports poor mental health. These children are more likely to have poorer overall health, mental, emotional or developmental disorders and adverse childhood experiences.
“One of the biggest factors we really see is family involvement,” Angus says. “I’m not saying families aren’t really involved. Sometimes families are just as lost as the kids. Families can do a great job or be very supportive, but I think we always have to look back and recognise that children’s lives are not what they were yesterday. And the impact is seen locally and regionally. It’s easy to look away and pretend it doesn’t exist, but unfortunately it really does exist. We’ve seen a lot of kids who have to become adults at home. When you’re 10, 11, 12, 15 years old, that’s a big thing.”
Angus said one of the most important things school districts can do is foster positive, vibrant relationships in the school environment where students feel heard and supported. He also praised schools for investing in student mental health and evaluated how they support the mental health needs of students. Beltz said he is grateful for the grant but hopes to see more mental health resources allocated in future education budgets.
“I think people need to understand that these grants allow us to embed services in our schools,” Beltz said. “These grants allow us to phase them into our school budget systems. So right now it’s just a grant opportunity, but the hope is that over time we’ll embed these efforts permanently, and in some cases that means school districts have to accept that financial responsibility as well.”
In addition to Hopewell, other school districts and entities that received state funding include:
- $172,548 to Ambridge Area School District
- $168,502 to the Central Valley School District
- $151,288 to Freedom Area School District
- $150,426 to the Aliquippa School District
- $139,931 to Rochester Area School District
- $74,500 for CLASS Academy
- $70,000 to Beaver County Career and Technical Center
- $70,000 to Baden Academy Charter School
- $3,725 to Beaver Valley Middle School 27
