Mental health pandemic brought to board's attention

WORLAND - Rylan Mocko, a former student who graduated in 2019, came before the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees on Monday to discuss another pandemic that he believes is ongoing across the country especially in the Big Horn Basin, mental illness and suicide.

Mocko began by saying that he wants to bring it to the attention of the board and that he wants to make it normal for youth in the community to talk about suicide awareness as well as making it normal for students to talk about stresses that may lead to depression later on.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and the second leading cause among youth aged 10-24. Wyoming has the highest suicide rate at 29.4 per 100,000 residents; this led the nation as of 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Montana follows just behind at a rate of 27 per 100,000.

Mocko then stated that there have been 10 suicides alone in the Big Horn Basin in the last four months.

He said that he came before the board to see if there is anything that the board can do to help get something in the students

curriculum that talks about grief with students at a younger age without making the curriculum specifically about suicide and mental illness.

“Far too often people give up because they do not know how to properly fill the needs that are coming their way,” Mocko said.

This request would lean toward helping students learn how to cope with grief rather than keeping all of their emotions locked inside.

Mocko said that grief can come in many forms other than just losing someone and that can include parents divorcing, moving at a young age as well as other minor stressors that can pile onto youth.

He said that there is a need to help prepare the younger generations for learning how to cope and deal with different forms of grief, and that you would be cheating the generation if you cannot implement a way to cope with hardships that they will face.

“I think it should be taught across the nation, but it’s not,” Mocko said. “I think if we were to start in Wyoming then it would be a stepping stone in the right direction.”

He feels that if they are able to even save one student’s life then it would be “worth it 110%.”

Mocko said that he knows that they cannot eliminate mental illness and suicide all together, but he wants to make it comfortable for everybody in the Big Horn Basin to talk about.

The board accepted resources that Mocko provided and did not provide any further comment at the time of his presentation.

SUPERINTENDENT

The administrative team was asked by the board to discuss their views during their administrative reports on how they deal with suicide and mental illness already, and what they are seeing in relation to what is causing this for students.

WCSD No. 1 Superintendent David Nicholas discussed the already in place system for the district of Safe2Tell Wyoming. This allows students to anonymously report their peer without repercussions if they believe that student is struggling.

“The question is if you could do more, of course you could,” Nicholas said when it came to helping youth with learning how to cope.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Worland Middle School Principal Ryan Clark said that at the middle school he had one of the most stressful years when it came to dealing with suicide risk assessments, even saying that they dealt with four assessments a week for a constant two- or three-week period.

Clark said that they are having conversations with students and sometimes even that does not seem like enough.

He said that at the middle school level they are trying to focus on decision making as well as self-care.

He said that he has discussed this issue further with the Washakie Prevention Coalition and is attempting to work with them to potentially bring in a program or trainers.

“The comment that one student made to me that rang true was ‘Mr. Clark I do not want to kill myself I want to kill the feelings inside,’” Clark said. “That is terrifying to me.”

With social media becoming a large part of society, Clark feels that even though there is no direct correlation between social media and happiness that he has seen studies where youth receive large dopamine boosts if their social media does well, and it hurts them when it does not.

He said he knows that does not have direct correlation between mental illness in youth in the area and technology/social media, but he believes that youth are getting further away from face-to-face interactions and that they need to get back to emphasizing interaction in that way rather than over technology.

Clark also said that he has spent time with youth planning out weekends and helping students talk with parents trying to figure out a way for his students to hang out with other students in order for them to have an in-person social interaction.

HIGH SCHOOL

Worland High School Principal Wade Sanford said that he was happy with the amount of reports that they receive from the Safe2Tell Wyoming program. He said they try to create a safe environment where students are encouraged to report those things to the staff.

Sanford said it would be complex trying to find the right way to teach mental health and that they need to make sure the person who teaches the course is qualified and prepared should the district decide to provide a further program to deal with coping.

He talked about the impact of the Connections Period, which has students seeing the same teacher all four years of high school. The program helps build relationships between teachers and students that hopefully allows for students to talk to teachers should they need advice.

Sanford said that the high school offered counseling to students who were closely associated with a youth who recently passed away.

He said that he is unsure if it will ever be able to get to 100% of involvement but he knows the next step that needs to be cleared is the stigma of asking for help as a sign of weakness.

New Worland High School vice principal Aaron Abel said that he tries to continue to push the student population to be involved in some activity in order to help students be active on weekends and interacting face-to-face with their peers every day.

ELEMENTARIES

West Side Elementary Principal Bruce Miller said that he was thankful the district hired a second counselor for the students at his school as he felt it was necessary. He said that he believes this was needed as there have been a number of students at his grade levels (fourth and fifth) that have been reported as harming themselves.

East Side Elementary principal Chris Peterson said that he is seeing more and more kids coming into kindergarten or first grade with more stress than usual.

He, along with Miller, said that a lot of their students have access to technology even from a young age.

He said that his students have no idea how to cope, and he feels the more that they can do from a younger age the better.

New South Side Principal Brian Gunderson said that he understands that the teachers have excellent relationships with the students but did not have as much comment on the matter as he is transitioning to his position.