Mental Health Education Case Study

The State of Hawai’i is a unique island state that faces many challenges, but also many opportunities. One particular challenge is our current behavioral health framework and limited socio-emotional curriculum. The current model has created a gap in the services by focusing solely on academic behavior while ignoring social and emotional issues because of the Department of Education’s (DOE) policy in mental health. Lawsuits should not deter our children from getting the help that they need. Our strengths lie in our close-knit system. This allows us an opportunity to gauge results of new innovative interventions in a controlled, diverse setting. There is a need for children to learn tangible coping skills that promote focus, self-regulation, …show more content…
The school’s mission is to “provide students with a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and values to adapt and thrive when facing the challenges of the future.” (AE website). AE utilizes a holistic approach to education, offering a range of programs that address the unique needs of students. The school, ranked 16th of 205 Hawaii Elementary Schools (SchoolDigger), has approximately 460 students with a student/teacher ratio of 17.6. The student body is comprised of local children (those born and raised on the island) as well as those from military families. Percentages representing racial breakdown are White - 48.5; two or more races - 17.7; and Pacific Islander - 12.7. 12.9% of students are free/discounted lunch …show more content…
Suspensions, GPA, altercations and attendance trends will be evaluated before and after the program’s first year of implementation. Attention, emotion regulation, compassion and calming are areas that will complete the