Indian Prairie School District 204 will be holding its first ever Mental Health Symposium this March.
Supporting mental health needs of students and families
The district put together the symposium in an effort to better support students and their families in their mental health needs. The idea sprang from a parent education survey, which saw 66% of respondents asking for topics related to mental health.
About the symposium
Included in the event will be a breakfast, keynote session on youth mental health, breakout sessions, and a community resource fair. There will also be childcare provided for those ages three to 10.
Keynote session
The keynote session is titled “Protecting Our Children: Understanding and Monitoring Youth Mental Health.” It will be presented by KidsMatter and the Naperville Police Department, in partnership with Linden Oaks and Fox Valley Institute.
Some of the topics covered in the keynote session will be stressors that kids currently face, warning signs that a child may be struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, and how parents can better watch for any of those warning signs.
Also covered will be issues surrounding social media, dangers of the internet, and phone use.
Breakout sessions
Along with the keynote session, there will also be two breakout sessions. Those will be run by a variety of experts in the areas of mental health, education, and law enforcement.
Participants will choose one of five topics within each breakout session. Included among those are sessions on parenting matters, navigating peer relationships, coaching kids through big feelings, and mental health and law enforcement response, to name a few.
Registering for the Mental Health Symposium
The Mental Health Symposium will be held Saturday, March 4 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Metea Valley High School, and is open to the public. Registration information for the event is available on the IPSD 204 website.
Other mental health initiatives by IPSD 204
Earlier in the school year, the district launched another initiative to help address mental health needs. Thanks to grant funds from Edward-Elmhurst Health, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Illinois State Board of Education, the district was able to begin free therapy sessions at several of its schools.
The program launched at Fischer Middle School, Georgetown Elementary School, Granger Middle School, and Longwood Elementary School. It later expanded to include feeder schools for those sites. Waubonsie Valley High School also gained access to the sessions through Georgetown and Fischer.
Thanks to an additional grant, the sessions will be extended to Neuqua Valley High School and Metea Valley High School.
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