An Open Letter to the School Board • Writer: Amanjot Kaur • Designer: Audrey Hameister
• Photographer: Erica Chen
Author’s Disclaimer: One of the students interviewed has requested anonymity, due to her personal history with depression and suicide. She will be referred to as “Alex”. Mental health is currently a major issue in high schools around the country. Brookfield East has taken steps in improving mental health among students with StopIt and Hope Squad. These programs have led to controversy between administration who claim the programs are effective and bring awareness to mental health and some students who argue the measures taken aren’t successful.
Brookfield East is, in many ways, an av-
erage suburban high school. Its current issues are the same as those riddling schools across the nation. With more students growing tense and depressed, and the clear divisions between different groups within the school, East is not immune to the cons of American high schooling. The school board is trying to solve this with their programs to address mental health. This new mental health agenda has led to controversy over its effectiveness and whether or not it correctly addresses mental illness. Fighting for mental health is not as simple as one procedure. Knowing this, Brookfield East has created several programs to help those with mental illnesses. For example, the school has a psychologist, social worker, four guidance counselors, and an administration trained to help students with mental illness. East has made several steps towards mental health support. Some methods include partnerships with local mental health groups such as NAMI, Prevent Suicide
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Wisconsin, and the Community Conversations program to meet up with local families, faith leaders, and medical providers. Other methods include apps used to promote student transparency and safety, such as StopIt, which helps students anonymously report issues and reports can even be spread to law enforcement if necessary. Since it began being used at East in 2018, StopIt has gained around 108 reports on mental health and school violence. Now, East has joined schools from around the country in implementing Hope Squad, which assigns certain students as “beacons of light” for those struggling with mental illness. Associate Principal Fellmeth and School Psychologist Aimee tSchneidewent further elaborate on the scope of the mental health outreach efforts. Schneidewent said “the main reason why we chose Hope Squad is because it’s a peer program…it’s a bridge to trusted adults because some of those students aren’t getting
to the adults.” Both Schneidewent and Fellmeth agreed that it can be incredibly difficult for students to comfortably reach out about serious matters regarding their mental health, and this is why they believe the school’s agenda is progressive and effective. However, some students with mental illnesses disagree and question the actual success of the district. For example, Alex has dealt with depression and a history of suicide attempts. When asked about how the school has helped her cope with her depression, she said, “If I have a problem, I could sometimes go to teachers. Alex claims that she has seen students get away with treating kids with serious mental health issues rudely, and teachers turning a blind eye. “I feel like they don’t care, or they take it out of proportion, which doesn’t help… it escalates it,” said Alex. She believes it should be the administration who is reaching out to students. Alex said, “these kids are in their hands the majority of the time… and it’s scary how [mental illness] can lead to so
