ISMHI Whole Child Summit
Each year the Indiana School Mental Health Initiative hosts a summit designed to bring together educators, mental health professionals, and community partners to engage in a day of learning and collaboration. At the summit, we'll share learnings and progress from across Indiana on how school districts and their community partners are building the capacity to address the development of the whole child within school frameworks and improvement plans. As important as the “how” is, the Summit also clearly address the “why,” and the importance of doing so to change belief systems about behavior and learning.
Spotlight on Schools Making a Difference
School districts around the state are doing exemplary work to meet the social emotional learning and mental health needs of their students and staff. This space is designed to highlight the work of a particular school/school district each month for all to see! One part of ISMHI’s ongoing work is to harness the collective knowledge from around the state and share it, thus creating a community of practice for all. We see our “Spotlight on Schools” as a way to continue to create that community of practice, and to shine a light on the amazing work going on in our schools across the state! If you’d like for your school and/or district to be in the spotlight, or know of a school district you’d like to have recognized, please contact Dr. Sandy Washburn at swashbur@iu.edu for more information.
Bring Change to Mind
Initially established in Indiana by the Indiana School Mental Health Initiative and with the support of the Indiana Department of Education, Bring Change to Mind has grown and now has a national staff member dedicated to expanding clubs across Indiana.
Bring Change to Mind’s High School Program gives teens a platform to share their voices and raise awareness around mental health. The goal is to empower students to educate one another, and their communities, and to create a culture of peer support within their schools. For more information about BC2M or to learn how a club can be established in your high school, contact Emily Nichols at Emily.n@bringchange2mind.org. You can also visit the national website at https://bringchange2mind.org/.