In the Center School District we are privileged to work with over 2,500 young people in our community every single day. They come to us with unlimited potential for learning. Our job is to help them unlock their unique potential and ignite their minds with a passion to learn so when they graduate, they are prepared for their future, making our world a better place.
An important part of unlocking potential and igniting minds is supporting the mental and behavioral health needs of our students. On January 23rd we were excited to announce a unique new initiative with Children’s Mercy Kansas City and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City to leverage their skills and resources to help us support our students.
Dr. Rob Steele, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of Children's Mercy explained the initiative to members of the media.
"As you know, the nation’s youth are facing an unprecedented mental health crisis, and our children and teens are greatly underserved.
More than 15 million children need mental health services, but many do not receive the care they need. In the Kansas City region, 40-50% of youth go untreated.
Facilitating early intervention is one of the four strategic pillars of Illuminate – our 5-year comprehensive mental health initiative.
By leveraging strengths in the community and working alongside schools and community-based organizations, we can tackle mental health issues head-on."
The initiative will start with providing all Center staff and students with training to incorporate Restorative Practices in our district culture, providing us with important skills in conflict resolution and behavioral support that focus on accountability, relationships, and community building. The training will be provided by RestorEd, a group of former teachers with an excellent track record in a number of area schools. All costs for the training will be covered by private support from the partners.
In addition, a team of mental health and behavioral health specialists from Children's Mercy will work closely with Center's specialists to strengthen the district's systems and support for staff and students.
The media event was covered by multiple media outlets, including KCUR, KCTV, and Fox4 who all ran stories. Center’s student journalists from HiveTV also covered the event. Click here to see the story that they produced, including exclusive interviews with partner executives.
The Center School District has an amazing village of staff, students, families, and organizational partners. We are very excited that Children’s Mercy Kansas City and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City are part of our village. We look forward to their support as we continue to Unlock Potential and Ignite Minds in South Kansas City.