OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Blue Valley School District held the state of Kansas's largest-ever mental health first-aid training Tuesday.
Coaches and sponsors at the middle and high school levels took part in the course.
"In this training, we are learning first aid for mental health, so it's essentially what a first responder would do," Alison Mayes, an orchestra director in the district, said.
Coaches and sponsors involved in the training learned what to do and say in the event a student has a mental health crisis.
Mayes is in her second year working in Blue Valley schools, but it's 15th year teaching overall. She told KSHB 41 that she's never been involved in a training like this before.
"I'm really glad that they're not only instructing us on how to be good first responders with mental health, but we're teaching the kids that it's okay to reach out and to open up," Mayes said.
Mental Health First Aid is a national council for mental well-being, aimed at adults who interact with young people. Johnson County Mental Health Center has instructors leading the course.
The coaches and sponsors involved learned about mental health and substance use challenges affecting kids ages 12 to 18.
"It's definitely talked about a little bit more than pre-pandemic, and I think that's why it's so critical to get our coaches and sponsors trained," said Matt Ortman, director of school administration. "Because if the students are going to be talking about it more, we need to know how to have those conversations."
Ortman told KSHB 41 that having coaches and sponsors take part in the training is only the first step. He hopes that in the future, all district staff can learn mental health first-aid.
"Getting them trained in mental health first aid would be a good start, our coaches and sponsors have unique relationships with students because they see them inside the classroom and outside the classroom," Ortman said. "They're often the go-to person for a lot of our students."
The district has done mental health training before, but never anything to this extent.
Leaders of the training said the district went from dipping their toes into mental health to diving all the way in.
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