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from Congratulations, Class of 2020

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ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 21) by state law. But while a mental health therapist might be part of such a team, most of their work involves helping students without disabilities but who are struggling emotionally for any number of reasons, problems that all too often only come to the school’s attention as a result of an incident on campus, which can range from being disruptive in class to fighting or being caught smoking or vaping marijuana on campus, which qualifies for an automatic suspension.

“If a student gets in trouble at school for being high on marijuana, for example, we have to suspend,” Simmons said. “But we are also trying to address the root cause, so we ask the student if they ever think about talking to a counselor, as opposed to a parent or a principal, about why they smoke marijuana. Then we refer the student to a mental health therapist who does a screening, and at the end, they are able to decide on a plan for that student. Maybe they need outside services, or maybe they work with the therapist on a once-per-month basis.” According to Simmons, suspensions for marijuana smoking – or, far more often, marijuana vaping – have risen substantially in the last few years. “It’s not just because it’s easy for them to walk into a vape shop,” she says. “It’s something much deeper. There’s something in our psyche now about instant gratification and loneliness that is involved, and we need to figure out how to

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At the heart of SBHS’s effort to hire another full-time therapist is the school’s goal to provide support for what Simmons calls the “whole child,” a concept that goes far beyond the classroom setting and which has become even more crucial during the coronavirus era. “We recognized that we had academic shifts we had to make with remote learning, but that doesn’t address the social and emotional challenge some students face,” Simmons explained. “If your basic needs aren’t being met, you are not going to be able to academically or socially engage at all. I’m lucky we have a foundation and parents and staff who believe in that concept.”

So far this year, the Foundation for Santa Barbara High School has also raised tens of thousands of dollars to help support the school’s most needy families. According to Foundation Director Katie Jacobs, not just parents but staff members have been critical components of this effort. Jen Slemp, an English Language Arts teacher, took several of her students and their families grocery shopping and helped raise money for their rent. Parent Ann Rycroft made handsewn masks, while the Foundation also teamed with the school’s PTSA and the student group Dons4Dons to raise a total of $12,000 in emergency funds for the school’s most economically vulnerable families. Their drive inspired an anonymous donor to offer $12,500 if SBHS could raise a matching sum, a goal that took only a few weeks to accomplish.

Thanks to those efforts, the school collected a total of $77,000, with cash grants going out to nearly 130 families. “It has been gratifying to see our community respond to the needs of our families and our students,” said Jacobs. “However, we know that the money we are giving through #SBHSStrong is a drop in the bucket, and only a short-term fix.” Hiring another full-time therapist, she added, would go a long way to providing long-term support. “Having additional mental health resources for our students will build resiliency and possibly even save lives,” she said. “Now we just need to raise the second half of the funds for the position!”

To make a donation to help meet the long-term mental health needs of SHBS students, contact Jacobs at (805) 966-9101, ext. 5225, or email her at katie@foundationforsbhs. org. You can also donate online at www.foundationforsbhs.org. •MJ L aughing M atters

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