During American Education Week (Nov. 12-16, 2018), the Ohio Education Association is taking the opportunity to raise awareness of, and to help eliminate, the stigma of managing a disability or a mental illness.
[Video: Keeping Students Safe — Andrea Beeman, Special Education Paraprofessional, OEA/Maple Org. Support Team]
Each morning, millions of school children face the challenge of living with an impairment, mental illness or disability.
Conditions range from Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, drug dependency, and depression to varied spectrum disorders.
Despite their prevalence, unwarranted assumptions and avoidance by other are also, unfortunately, widespread.
Accordingly, the OEA has called upon state lawmakers to implement a comprehensive school safety strategy that includes meeting mental health needs in schools by providing appropriate supports for our students.
These strategies must not only include essential physical security issues, but also addressing mental health in our curriculum, and appropriate staffing and student support in the form of adequate numbers of counselors, nurses, social workers, and mental health specialists to ensure that all students’ needs are met.
Similarly, the OEA has recently:
- Opposed a plan to use federal funds to buy guns for teachers;
- Sponsored the 2018 National Dropout Prevention Network Conference; and,
- Advocate for programs that establish and support safe learning environments that are free of crime, drug use, and other disruptions.
To learn more about where OEA members collectively stand on the issues, click here! | #WeLoveOurESP | #AEW2018
