Do schools truly care about students’ mental health? This is a question that comes up quite frequently in the education system. It’s talked about heavily for schools to be a safe and comforting environment for the students, but what are they really doing? Although the staff of Rangeview High School preaches about having resources for the student body, such as their counselors or trusted teachers, it can be difficult for teenagers to open up about their struggles to people they aren’t comfortable with.
After talking to countless students of Rangeview, it’s been proven that it’s common to feel like you don’t have that many trusted adults to turn to. Ixel Velez, a sophomore, states, “It doesn’t really feel like they are there”. She also adds that she’s unsure of who to go to when she’s struggling with anything. Junior, Rhian Vargas, explains how she doesn’t believe that students’ mental health is a priority to staff, especially because they have many things to juggle at once. Despite Rangeview being a No Place for Hate school, this title isn’t being properly reflected. Several events that have occurred–recently and in past years–demonstrate this improper reflection.
A possible solution to get students more comfortable with RHS staff is to pull them individually every single month, or biweekly, to the counselor’s office to truly get to know and understand each other. I believe that this will be beneficial because that way, there will hopefully be relationships being built before it’s too late. Students will feel more connected to their assigned counselor and will be more likely to open up to them. In these brief meetings in which students are pulled, they will be able to talk about anything they would like, such as: school, personal life, or just to vent. This helps the relationship be more encouraged instead of forced, since students are able to speak about what they’d like.
President of the Mental Health Club, Tatiana Holguin, has dedicated herself to this, including me, and many other students at Rangeview. Multiple events are hosted throughout the year that bring Rangeview students together. By joining this group, we can all help raise awareness and end stigma with mental health within Rangeview.
