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In the New York City school system, which has more than 1 million students, a day off for mental or behavioral health reasons will be “treated like any other sick day,” said Nathaniel Styer, spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education.
The phrase “mental health day” may offend some children and parents. With that in mind, the school board in Montgomery County, Md.student illness and well-being” starts the new academic year.
“We didn’t want to call this day mental health day because we know there’s still stigma about it,” said Karla Silvestre, vice-president of the school board. Education Week told In June.
Schools are also experimenting with other methods beyond mental health days to help students cope with their daily stress. Jordan School District in Southern Jordan, Utah, “wellness rooms”, where students can turn up their pressure for 10 minutes when they feel overwhelmed. Some schools in Colorado have created “oasis rooms,” a student lounge that works with peer counselors and other resources.
Melanie Zhou, 19, who attended high school in Highlands Ranch, Colo, worked with other students to create the oasis rooms after a friend died by suicide.
“When my friend passed away, I didn’t know how to grieve properly,” she said.
Like me, Melanie felt that the priority at her school was academics, not self-care. And at home, he added, “it wasn’t very clear or open about mental health.”
One advantage of declaring a “mental health day” and recognizing its importance at the state level is that, ideally, using this type of language can help families start having more open conversations about mental health issues, potentially reducing some. Ms. Rothman said there is stigma associated with self-care.
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