7.1% of children aged 3-17 years have diagnosed anxiety and 3.2% have diagnosed depression. To break it down, in a class of 25 students, five of them could be struggling with mental health issues. Despite these statistics, almost 80% of teens/kids who need mental health assistance wont get the help they need. 

   Many of my peers and I can agree that we feel as if our mental health is put aside and our grades/school performance is more important. Teachers rarely ask how we really are , and there are not any mental health assistance programs that us as students are fully aware of. 

        We would highly appreciate if this petition can reach the school board and our mayor and grasp their attention to focus on this issue.