By: Dina Drogin ‘23, Commentary Editor

On April 5, 2022, I sat in the newly renovated Coraci Hall and listened as six of my enthusiastic classmates presented speeches, arguing about why they should each be the next Newark Academy Upper School president. While each speech contained unique anecdotes reflecting the candidates’ personalities and catchy slogans to sway the audience to vote in their favor, they shared a commonality: ideas for changes to mental health policies. In fact, when asked “What one policy change is most important to you?”, four out of the six candidates mentioned mental health reform.

According to the World Health Organization, 13.84% of youth (age 12-17) report suffering from at least one major depressive episode in 2021. The number of major depressive episodes among youth has increased by 206,000 cases from the data in 2020. It has been proven that the failure to address adolescent mental health leads to a continuation of the disorders into adulthood. Students are urging the community to start talking about mental health issues now in an attempt to limit problems in the future.

In an interview with Minuteman writer Michael Pyo ‘22, Dr. Catherine Atwell, the next Upper School principal, stated, “I love that NA students are taking the lead in educating the community and normalizing conversations about mental health.” Dr. Atwell’s observation is absolutely correct. NA students are making incredible strides in destigmatizing the topic of mental health in our community. In fact, I had the opportunity to speak with Claire Waskow ‘23 and Paige Schachtel ‘23, two strong voices for mental health reform at NA and members of the student council mental health committee, who explained some of the current mental health policies in place and more they hope to see in the future. 

Every Monday morning a member of the student council presents a “Mental Health Minute.” These short announcements contain resources that students may use if they are struggling and remind students that there is always help available at NA. However, the main goal of the Mental Health Minutes, as Claire Waskow mentioned, is “to get the words ‘mental health’ out in the air. There wasn’t that much public speaking about mental health, so we felt that a weekly announcement, even if it didn’t help anyone directly, was important. Getting the words in the air was better than nothing. We understand that a minute isn’t going to solve mental health… The resources aren’t supposed to work for everyone, but even if it has worked for one person, that means it has been successful.” As a student who attends Morning Meeting every Monday, I can confidently attest that the Mental Health Minutes have accomplished the goal of starting conversations and destigmatizing the words “mental health”. 

Recently, Claire and Paige co-created a “mental health survey” that was sent to the student body. The questions focused on ways that students have supported their mental health and suggestions for mental health education and policy at Newark Academy. Paige said, “The survey was part of a much bigger initiative to do more for mental health. It is a way for us to collect data about things that we should talk about.” The results from the survey are already being used to drive new initiatives at school.

Claire explained that the administration is “going to reinstate the (Independent School Health Check Survey) next year and are also going to have (wellness days) built into the calendar before the school year starts. Using all of the data and information, the administration will be able to find the right speakers and do the right workshops based on what the students need.” The student council is also planning on creating an official Mental Health committee as a way for students who do not participate in student council to get involved. “We aren’t sure how big it will be,” Paige mentioned, “but that is definitely on our minds.” 

There is clear, tangible change occuring at Newark Academy to promote student’s mental health. It is inspiring to be a part of a community with faculty members who are receptive to student ideas for these necessary changes and students who are willing to create that change. As Claire stated, “Mental health is just a constantly changing subject, so we know that there is always room for growth.” Because Newark Academy students are leading the conversation, the community is clearly benefiting and growing.