In the past year, the importance of mental health has come to the forefront of the national conversation in America. Driven by tragedies such as the Las Vegas shooting last year and the school shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in February, these conversations are taking place at the federal, state and local level.

While the issue of gun control remains divisive, there seems to be a clear consensus in the United States, spanning party lines — there needs to be a greater focus on mental health in our country.

For faculty and staff at Beaufort County Schools, newly allocated federal monies may help local educators do just that. According to a press release from the North

Carolina Department of Public Instruction, BCS has been selected as one of three school systems in the state that will be able to tap into a portion of $1.7 million allocated for improving mental health services during this fiscal year.

The funds are allocated as a part of the federal Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education) grant program, and according to BCS Director of Exceptional Children Renee Boyd, this will likely amount to somewhere in the neighborhood of $300,000 for the school system.

As to how the school system will spend that money, Boyd says there are three primary goals to improve the school system’s mental health services:

• A considerable portion of the funding will be used to provide professional development for faculty and staff throughout the school system, training employees to recognize mental health needs as they develop. This may include teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria staff and anyone else who comes into direct contact with students.
• A second goal is to improve the school system’s ability to connect youth with the services they need in the community, whether offered by government agencies such as the Department of Social Services or mental health counseling services such as the Family Wellness Center.
• Ultimately, Boyd hopes these steps will see a reduction in rates of school dropouts, substance abuse and attempted suicides among the young people of Beaufort County.

“If we’re putting these students with these resources early on, then I’m hoping we can really see that,“ Boyd said.

A prerequisite for funding, BCS also participated in the School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation system, an online resource that helps districts guide their mental health services.

“One of the biggest needs we figured out was a good record-keeping system to know which students were receiving mental health services outside of school,” Boyd said. “That’s one of the things were trying to investigate. Through this NC AWARE grant, we hope we can develop some kind of database and have some community outreach where we’re working with the different mental health facilities.”

The additional funds follow other efforts on the part of the school system to address mental health, a cause championed by former BCS superintendent Don Phipps. As the Board of Education ironed out the final details of its 2018-19 budget, the group faced budgetary shortfall of more than $500,000. Even as the school system lost a total of 11 teaching positions this fiscal year, the board was determined to keep funding for a district-wide mental health professional.

“Data has shown that early intervention is key,” Boyd said. “The earlier we can have students receiving therapy and services that they need, the better chance we have to keep these kids in school. There’s a better chance we can decrease discipline within the schools so all student can learn. You can’t turn on the news without hearing about something happening in the schools. This is us trying to do our part to get rid of the perception that the schools aren’t doing anything for mental health.”