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NEWS > - Student trustees' association urges government to expand school mental health services ANDREA GORDON Ontario's student trust- ees believe the need for bet- ter mental health resourc- es and training at schools is so great they hope to make it an issue in the provincial election this year. With five months until voters go to the polls, mem- bers of the Ontario Student Trustees' Association (OS- TA-AECO) have done their homework well before deadline. Student well-being and mental health supports were a central part of the "student platform" they will roll out at Queen's Park Jan. 10 on behalf of the two million students they represent at Ontario's pub- lic and Catholic school boards. "We: hear students talk- ing about it all the time," says association president Dasha Metropolitansky, a Grade 12 student at White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville. She is in her sec- ond term as a student trust- ee with the Halton public school board. The platform, which in- cludes. 16 recommenda- tions, calls on the govern- ment to mandate and fund suicide intervention and mental health training programs for high school staff and students across the province, at atime of unprecedented demand for services among childr en and youth. Metropolitansky - said the message trustees have been hearing on the ground was backed up by results of an OSTA survey conducted in November, in which three-quarters of the 8,230 student respon- dents from 62 Ontario boards rated their school's mental health resources as ineffective, - while two- thirds said they were inac- cessible. The student platform is a new initiative "created by students for students" and trustees now hope major . political parties will incor- porate the 16 recommenda- tions into their own educa- tion platforms during the campaign, she said. The 22-page document draws, on the November student survey, with rec- ommendations focused on student well-being, equita- ble access to programs and the need to teach pr actical skills eritical to 21st-centu- ry learning. Recommendations also include: . Giving students the right to form a well-being club or committee in every school, and providing men- tal health training pro- grams for youth. . Mandating and fund- ing breakfast programs for =o Jee flyers. coupons. shopping lists. Shop Smart Get coupons for products you use and love 3 3 p-- _ r ~1] Print coupons instantly or reCeive by mail Redeem coupons at CEE ny Major ret: wer in Ci - free! naga he gle play Learn more at Save.ca/mobile all schools. . Testing or screening all studentsin grades1,4and 8 transifion years to identify exceptional learning needs. . More steps to ensure all students -with the legal right to special education accommodations .receive them. . More funding for guid- ance counsellors, and re- quiring that all be trained in suicide intervention. Themes of the platform echo some of the findings in the association's 2017 survey of students, parents and educators released in December, which raised alarm about the lack of mental health resources. Youth also want train- ing in other life skills that are relevant to any work- place, says Metropolitan- sky, which is why the plat- form calls for all students to receive training in tech- nological literacy as well as basic CPR and First Aid, self-defence and conflict resolution. It also recommends co- op credits that provide workplace exposure be changed from "open level" courses to "mixed level" so they are recognized as credits on post-secondary Thai House Cuisine Award winning Thai Cuisine Chris So / Toronto Star White Oaks Secondary School student Dasha Metropolitansky. applications. + "The comment we hear from students and our, peers is 'we feel like what we're learning is discon- nected from real life and can't necessarily be ap- plied outside the class- room,'" she said. With files frem the To- ronto Star Valentine' = Promotion 10%OFFT - for dine in only! Fs \ one chit Rose per table * viliciate Crp is Valid fo wwithaihiouse'ca ATO ERE (70009 Valid foday until February 8" 2018 for cash payment onlywith - total over $40 before Tax per one bill. Have your special Valentine's Dinner on : Valentine's Day * at Thai House Cuisine, receive a "Complimentary Chocolate Rose" ° *Reserve table now! £2 W¢ @tht ES, En 2 = L N uh owed Saget pment Teruqad 'Aepsiny] | uoidwey ueipeue uo | 8L0z 't W029 dojjeyapisui