Low pay and an increase in responsibility have left many Oklahoma teachers and school personnel reconsidering their chosen careers. This has left many school districts across the state with the current teacher shortage, which in turn impacts the students. Many students in this state rely on teachers and school personnel to help guide them in their lives while dealing with the overwhelming increase in mental health problems after the pandemic. After all, suicide remains the second-leading cause of death among school-aged teenagers in Oklahoma. But these students also are suffering at the hands of school districts that are overwhelmed, understaffed and unprepared to provide intensive mental health services to struggling students. School districts are struggling enough to keep their teachers and school personnel in their positions, so how can we rely on schools to keep mental health providers employed?
Teachers continue to be front-line workers when it comes to reporting abuse and neglect experienced by their students, but with their overwhelming responsibilities as a result of the teacher shortage, many students are falling between the cracks. In one rural school, most teachers are so behind on their day-to-day tasks that their last priority is catering to the mental health of their students. This also has been true for some of the principals, counselors and other staff. Providing external mental health services among schools may target the problem with the students who would benefit, but it does not target the true problem: school staff not prioritizing mental health for their students.
As a state, we are 45th in public education. While adding more in-school mental health providers may lessen that responsibility for teachers, it does not help target the real issue that Oklahoma does not provide adequate funding for educational services as a whole. Without this adequate funding to pay our teachers and school personnel, schools all around this state will continue to suffer because of the lack of education on the benefits of mental health services.
I believe if we come together as a state, come together as mental health providers, and come together as educators, we can overhaul the current disregard for mental health services within schools. We must first target this statewide indifference of mental health providers within schools before we can begin implementing successful resources for our students. By implementing mental health and trauma-informed statewide trainings for our teachers and school personnel, Oklahoma moves one step closer to appreciating mental health services for students on a day-to-day basis. Without the respect and appreciation for the work being done by their peers, Oklahoma mental health providers who are imbedded within schools will begin walking out, much like teachers are now.
Regan Brewer is a Master of Social Work candidate at the University of Oklahoma who works with in-school and outpatient mental health programs for children ages 12-19.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: School mental health providers need support or they, too, will walk out
