Mental health awareness is a large topic, especially coming out of a pandemic where many of those who rely on common interactions are now suffering alone or in an unhealthy environment. As an individual who has dealt with my own struggles and has also listened to my friends go through many challenges with their own mental illness, I feel as if mental illness is not discussed adequately in school. It is not discussed adequately in terms of coping mechanisms, various illnesses, and how to know signs of suffering/being an ally. 

In New York State, it is mandatory to teach mental health in health class, but the curriculum is not uniform and has not been updated since the early 2000s. Much has changed since then and more students are suffering from mental illness. Therefore, there needs to be change. The health curriculum should be revised every 5 years to make it up to date. The curriculum provided by NYS is not very in depth and could benefit from adding more things to it. Principal Tarantino should ensure that the curriculum is revisited as often as other classes. If students are not in a strong state of mind, they will not be able to focus as strongly on other classes. Currently, our health teachers have created their own curriculum that changes depending on the needs of the students in class, thus Principal Tarantino should keep this process for years to come. This will allow health teachers to re-evaluate when needed, especially based on current situations such as the pandemic, as well as making sure the curriculum is more in depth than what NYS provides.

In New York State, it is not mandatory that a health teacher be certified to teach health; rather, physical education teachers and science teachers are allowed to teach health when they may not be certified. Although Clarkstown South has only certified health teachers instructing health classes, this has not always been the case. Principal Tarantino should ensure that from here on out, only health certified teachers will be instructing health classes to make sure that students are getting a quality health education. 

Currently, Clarkstown South's website does not provide a "quick link" option for students to have access to the school psychologists and student assistance counselors. On top of not having a quick link, there are no resources available right on South's website in a section specific for those who help students in need. Moving forward, it would be ideal for students to have quick and accessible information when they are looking for help.

Therefore, I hope two things come from this petition:

• Reviewed and updated (if needed) health curriculum from the health teachers every 3-5 years.
• Ensure every health teacher to teach at South is health certified.
• Create a section on South's website just for school resources for mental illness (psychologists, student assistance counselors) and links to help those in need.

Thank you for signing! Look out for more petitions making changes in the realms of mental health education!