In an effort to learn about teen mental health issues and seek solutions for student mental health concerns in schools, this year, Chelsea’s Principal Michael Kapolka and Assistant Principal Luman Strong took four Chelsea students to the Lansing Center, for a statewide mental health summit. The students invited were Charleye Browning-Perry (‘22), Chelsea Mason (‘20), Maia Burrell (‘20), and Molly Lamb (‘21), and the summit took place on October 8, 2019.

Chelsea Mason describes her experience at the summit and what she felt they all learned: “We learned that mental health affects people mostly around the ages fourteen to twenty-five, they told us what could be possible causes for them, and more.” Mason says, “I thought the trip was very informational, and learning about how other school administrators help with mental health gave me ideas about how to change our school.”

During the summit, CHS students and staff attended breakout sessions on topics such as stress release, school/life balance, effects of social media, suicide awareness and responsiveness,  depression and anxiety, and more.

The summit was inspirational for the students and administrators that attended. With new ideas about changing school climate and addressing teen mental health issues from the summit, it is possible that students will be seeing changes at CHS.