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Mental Health & Public Schools

January 2022 - This article makes plain the struggles of both living as a full-time high school and having other responsibilities

Written by: Emma Rapp

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Students are affected every day by stress caused by things going on in school (like tests) and things going on outside of school (like jobs, relationships, and issues at home). Most schools do offer counseling services and our school is lucky enough to have Sara Wiggins as our school social worker. 

Social workers help people adjust to changes and challenges in their everyday lives. Going through a day at school, students experience several challenges that could be either mental or physical. Social workers find strategies for coping with stress that can range from daily frustrations of teen life all the way to very serious situations. Mrs. Wiggins has a Google Classroom available for all students for stress management like coloring sheets to print out, YouTube videos to listen to, and apps to download to relax your mind. Working at schools in students' everyday lives can build bonds with students, which can make things easier to talk about- our social worker, Mrs. Wiggins is very good at that. 

Mrs. Wiggins always fits in her schedule whoever needs someone to talk to, a kind word said to, or to help get into contact with an outside resource. Stress is a big factor in students' everyday lives, but Mrs. Wiggins is a big stress reliever for many students. Our school is very lucky to have Mrs. Wiggins.