Students Talk Mental Health, Charter Reform with Legislators

Student representatives on the RTSD School Board and RHS and RMS student government officers joined Board members and district staff for conversations about student mental health and charter school reform with Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, Rep. Jennifer O'Mara, and a representative from Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon's office at the 8th annual Legislative Breakfast hosted by the Board's Government Relations and Communications Committee on April 7 in the RMS Library.

The event kicked off with a performance by cast members of "Matilda, Jr.," this year's RMS Spring Musical held in March. The stirring song and welcoming remarks from GRCC administrative, Board, and student members set the stage for honest dialogue among attendees, who were broken into groups equally represented with staff, Board members, students, and a legislator or member of the legislator's staff.

Much of the groups' dialogue centered on the topic of student mental health. Students shared their experiences, and those of their friends, in being aware of and tending to their mental health before and since the pandemic, and the accessibility of support services in school. Valuable and actionable suggestions were offered to bolster student awareness of these services, as well as ways to increase state funding for mental health resources for counties and school districts.

Sen. Cappelletti attended the event in-person joined by Brandi Brands, a staff member in Sen. Cappelletti's office. Rep. O'Mara joined virtually. At the conclusion of the event, Faith King, a staff member in Congresswoman Scanlon's office who attended in-person, offered to continue the mental health discussion in a future roundtable hosted by the congresswoman, with logistics to be developed in collaboration with the district. 

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