Yellowknife Catholic Schools is introducing a new school-wide mental health program this year, designed to give students tools to manage emotions, navigate challenges and build healthy relationships before problems arise.
Open Parachute programs will be taught from junior kindergarten through Grade 12, with teachers spending time on the lessons once or twice a week.
The program was introduced to staff during a professional development day last Thursday, led by clinical psychologist and Open Parachute founder Dr Hayley Watson and her team.
Liz Baile, YCS director of student services, said the program builds on years of work to strengthen how staff support students’ social and emotional well-being.
“When we have staff members who are really well versed in social-emotional learning and how to regulate students, how to help them with their healthy choices and positive identity, it really does make an impact on their learning,” Baile told Cabin Radio.
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Open Parachute focuses on preventative mental health skills, rather than waiting until a student is already struggling.
Students will practise skills such as identifying and expressing emotions, changing their mindset, thinking critically, coping with stress and knowing when to reach out for help.
Watson said the goal is to give students those skills in advance, so they have tools to draw on when they encounter problems.
YCS says the curriculum has been customized using the district’s mental health data, along with surveys of staff and parents about student well-being concerns.
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The district is partnering with researchers from Calgary’s Werklund School of Education to collect wellness and social-emotional learning data over the coming years.
Dr Molly Stewart Lawlor, who is helping to lead that research, said the work will look at whether teachers feel confident implementing the program and how the skills are being integrated into classrooms.
Baile said the program is intended to become a long-term part of how YCS supports students.
“It’s not going away,” she said, “because this is what our kids need the most.”
