One local school district is arming parents with mental health resources to help kids
Denair Unified School District is piloting a program of teaching parents how to recognize and support mental health issues for their children, using videoconferencing with Dr. Neha Chaudhary, a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University.
“The timing of the new program is directly related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Denair’s 1,300 students, their families and school employees,” said Terry Metzger, DUSD superintendent in a press release.
She said most DUSD students have been taught exclusively via distance learning since last spring, which has created stress for students, parents, teachers, staff and administrators.
The goal of the program is to give parents education and resources to help them help their children cope with any mental health issues. It’s funded through a grant from Legacy Health Endowment, a Turlock-based nonprofit organization promoting health care solutions.
Chaudhary is the founder of Stanford Brainstorm, an academic lab dedicated to mental health innovation, with the philosophy of “meeting people where they are,” to create ways to care for mental health.
In mid-January as the first of a yearlong series, Chaudhary discussed the signs of childhood depression and ways to combat it. The video can be viewed on the DUSD Facebook page, and has already attracted more than 850 views.
Each month on the two Tuesdays after the video, Chaudhary will participate in Zoom sessions for parents to ask questions and learn more about the topic. For childhood depression, the first discussion was held on Jan. 26 and a second session, which can accommodate for 20 registrants, will be held Feb. 2, from noon to 1 p.m.
A link to sign up is posted on the district’s website at https://www.denairusd.org/
The videos and Zoom sessions will be available on the DUSD website. Spanish translation of the videos and the Zoom sessions will be available.
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
To help fund The Bee’s children’s health and economic development reporters with Report for America, go to bitly.com/ModbeeRFA
