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S t u d e n t t r u s t e e s a s s o c i a t i o n u r g e s g o v e r n m e n t t o e x p a n d s c h o o l m e n t a l h e a l t h s e r v i c e s ANDREA GORDON NEWS Chris So / Toronto Star White Oaks Secondary School student Dasha Metropolitansky. Ontario's student trustees be­ lieve the need for better mental health resources and training at schools is so great they hope to make it an issue in the provincial election this year. With five months until voters go to the polls, members of the Ontario Student Trustees' Asso­ ciation (OSTA-AECO) have done their homework well before deadline. Student well-being and men­ tal health supports were a cen­ tral part of the "student plat­ form" they will roll out at Queen's Park Jan. 10 on behalf of the two million students they re­ present at Ontario's public and Catholic school boards. "We hear students talking about it all the time," says associ­ ation president Dasha Metropol­ itansky, a Grade 12 student at White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville. She is in her second term as a student trustee with the Halton public school board. The platform, which includes 16 recommendations, calls on the government to mandate and fund suicide intervention and mental health training pro­ grams for high school staff and students across the province, at a time of unprecedented demand for services among children and youth. Metropolitansky said the message trustees have been hearing on the ground was backed up by results of an OSTA survey conducted in November, in which three-quarters of the 8,230 student respondents from 62 Ontario boards rated their school's mental health resources as ineffective, while two-thirds said they were inaccessible. The student platform is a new initiative "created by students for students" and trustees now hope major political parties will incorporate the 16 recommenda­ tions into their own education platforms during the campaign, she said. The 22-page document draws on the November student sur­ vey, with recommendations fo­ cused on student well-being, eq­ uitable access to programs and the need to teach practical skills critical to 21st-century learning. Recommendations also in­ clude: • Giving students the right to form a well-being club or com­ mittee in every school, and pro­ viding mental health training programs for youth. • Mandating and funding breakfast programs for all schools. • Testing or screening all stu­ dents in grades 1,4 and 8 transi­ tion years to identify exception­ al learning needs. • More steps to ensure all stu­ dents with the legal right to spe­ cial education accommoda­ tions receive them. • More funding for guidance counsellors, and requiring that all be trained in suicide inter­ vention. Themes of the platform echo some of the findings in the asso­ ciation's 2017 survey of students, parents and educators released in December, which raised alarm about the lack of mental health resources. Youth also want training in other life skills that are relevant to any workplace, says Metropol­ itansky, which is why the plat­ form calls for all students to re­ ceive training in technological literacy as well as basic CPR and First Aid, self-defence and con­ flict resolution. It also recommends co-op credits that provide workplace exposure be changed from "open level" courses to "mixed level" so they are recognized as credits on post-secondary applications. "The comment we hear from students and our peers is 'we feel like what we're learning is dis­ connected from real life and can't necessarily be applied out­ side the classroom,"' she said. You are not alone. We have free services to help you care for your family member with Alzheimer disease or dementia. Contact us to find out more. 1 -800-387-7127 or www.acclaimhealth.ca ■ Find out about our free courses, support groups and family consultations. Acclaim Health Funded in part by f t ^Ontario United W ay Mlnl«*iiga Iton Local Halton ft Hamilton Health Integration Network Accredited by (D ® The views expressed are those of Acclaim Health and do not necessarily reflect those of the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network, the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network (HNHB LHIN) or the Government of Ontario. Charitable Registration Number: 11928 4602 RR0001. RESERVE YOUR SPOT FOR FEB 26.2018 PROGRAMS Get job-ready in a high-demand trade in under 6 months with The Centre for Skilled Trades' accelerated programs! 75% hands-on training with industry certified instructors in our Home Reno, Electrical, or Millwright and Machining programs. *Each program is limited to 20 students BURLINGTON INFO NIGHT MONDAY - JAN 22.2018 7PM -9PM Learn more by meeting graduates, instructors and employers. CONNECTWITH US □ 905.333.3499 x:3 15 Q McNameeP@thecentre.on.ca D thecentre.on.ca/skilledtrades | O akville Beaver | Thursday, January 18, 2018 insidehalton.com http://www.acclaimhealth.ca mailto:McNameeP@thecentre.on.ca ft ^Ontario