Current Situation in Alberta
Regarding provincial funding towards supporting mental health in schools, in May of 2018, “Alberta Health announced additional funding of $5 million for the MHCB [Mental Health Capacity Building] in Schools Initiative” (Alberta Health, n.d.). This funding enabled the development of several programs that could be designed by schools to support their students with mental health struggles. Mental health staff were also able to be hired through this additional funding in 2018. However, with the change in the provincial government in 2019, the future of mental health supports in schools may be at risk.
Within the Calgary Board of Education, $32 million in budget cuts could result in temporary employment contracts being eliminated, and also possible increases in class sizes with decreases in programming (Cole, 2019). With increased class sizes comes classroom environments that are much more crowded, especially in older school infrastructure which was not necessarily designed for class sizes of over thirty students.
Further, with more students in a room, teachers may be less able to provide one-on-one support to those who require additional support and guidance regarding their mental health.
Further, with more students in a room, teachers may be less able to provide one-on-one support to those who require additional support and guidance regarding their mental health.
Image 1
When asked about the budget cuts and how this would impact the wellness room, an educational assistant at the school I was placed at explained that she was quite concerned because if her employment was impacted by the budget, the wellness room would also be negatively impacted because of issues of supervision.
If this were to happen and the school wanted to continue with the wellness room, teachers would likely be required to take time out of their prep periods to supervise the wellness room, which also could pose issues for teacher mental health.
If this were to happen and the school wanted to continue with the wellness room, teachers would likely be required to take time out of their prep periods to supervise the wellness room, which also could pose issues for teacher mental health.
References:
Alberta Health (n.d.) Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) in Schools Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/amh/Page2754.aspx
Cole, Y. (2019, November 15) Parents ‘bracing themselves’ for higher school fees, more fundraising Calgary Herald (online). Retrieved from https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/cbe-announces-where-32-million-in- provincial-cuts-are-coming-from
Images:
Image 1: NYC educator (n.d.) "Class size matters" Retrieved from http://nyceducator.com/2017/05/is-there-any-point-to-uft-class-size.html
Alberta Health (n.d.) Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) in Schools Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/amh/Page2754.aspx
Cole, Y. (2019, November 15) Parents ‘bracing themselves’ for higher school fees, more fundraising Calgary Herald (online). Retrieved from https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/cbe-announces-where-32-million-in- provincial-cuts-are-coming-from
Images:
Image 1: NYC educator (n.d.) "Class size matters" Retrieved from http://nyceducator.com/2017/05/is-there-any-point-to-uft-class-size.html