Dear Families:
More and more children are experiencing stressful events, and research has shown that they don’t always talk about it, even though it can make it harder to concentrate and learn at school, maintain healthy relationships with friends and family, or to support their own physical and emotional wellbeing.
During the registration process, you indicated whether your student could participate in a district-wide initiative for mental health screening. This year, the district has identified 5th grade as one of 3 target grades to participate in a mental health screening. If you opted your student in, they will have the opportunity to be screened for anxiety and depression.*
What to know:
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Your child’s participation is voluntary. Choosing not to take part, or stopping participation, will not change your child’s grades or other things at school in any way.
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These screenings are NOT meant to diagnose your child with any mental health condition. They are a way to gather information at a single point in time and all information gathered by these screenings will be used to help identify students who might benefit from more support.
- Variables that may influence screening results: time of year, age of student, how recently a stressful event occurred, time of day, if your child has previously had services, etc.
What to expect:
- If your child takes part, they will complete two screening surveys that ask about symptoms of anxiety and/or depression on September 8th and September 15th.
- If the surveys show that your child may be struggling with symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, you will be contacted so we can collaborate with you to find the right supports for your student.
- Additionally, you and your child have the right to seek out resources or opinions outside of school.
For more information:
- Read the linked “What is Screening?” document from our Social Worker, Teresa Stocks.
- Both questionnaires are available at the school in the main office if you wish to review them.
- If you have any questions, please contact Teresa Stocks at teresa.stocks@slcschools.com (faster response) or at 801.481.4819 x 1370.
Thank you for your time and cooperation.
*Please note that consent for these screenings was part of your student’s registration process. You can verify your consent status with your student’s teacher. Students who have opted out will do an alternative activity during the screeners. You are free to reconsider and opt your student in or out by contacting Teresa Stocks.
KA-KAW! ❤️🖤🦅
Dr. P.
Principal
Indian Hills
