Abstract
Eleventh‐graders at a western Massachusetts high school have created their own lesson in mental health advocacy. An assignment from Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School history teacher Gary Huggett has grown into an effort to convince Massachusetts state legislators to pass a bill establishing a mandatory mental health staffing ratio serving grades K–12, Spectrum News 1 reported. Students in Huggett's civic action class reported seeing themselves and their peers dealing with issues of anxiety and depression, and they are backing a Senate bill that would require Massachusetts schools to employ at least one mental health expert for every 250 enrolled students. “They all had somewhat personal stakes that drew them to the topic, so they thought, ‘What can we do to address mental health awareness in schools that will actually live beyond our little project?’” Huggett said of his students.
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