Giving Compass' Take:

• Tara Garcia Mathewson explains how an online support program called Ripple Effects is helping schools fulfill their students' mental health needs.

• What are the advantages and disadvantage of this online model? 

• Learn about the need for mental health funding. 

Vivian Carter, a longtime teacher, principal and the current innovation coordinator at Hazard Independent Schools, in Eastern Kentucky, said students don’t always open up to the adults in the school building if they have issues at home.

To fill the gap and offer students a private, personalized resource, Hazard Independent Schools has turned to an online mental and behavioral health program called Ripple Effects.

The district’s middle school, where Carter was most recently the principal, has been quick to embrace the program, which boasts hundreds of modules on topics including alcohol and drug abuse, child abuse, depression and suicide, eating disorders, bullying and sexual harassment. The modules teach students how to cope and offer strategies for taking action and getting help.

Middle school students get introduced to Ripple Effects through an advisory class, which they take once a week in small groups. They explore topics like staying organized, learning how to study and developing routines — things that make sense for whole-group instruction. That exposure, Carter said, helps them learn how to navigate the system and get a sense of the many other topics they could explore.

Dessie Bowling, safe schools program director at the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative, worked with the creators of Ripple Effects to tailor the program and its supports to rural students in Eastern Kentucky. They added new modules, using photos and voices of local students to create a level of familiarity.

Read the full article about Ripple Effects by Tara Garcia Mathewson at The Hechinger Report.