Back-to-School Safely: How Technology Fits Into Your Student Mental Health and Safety Programs

K-12 Technology Leaders Share How They Help Keep Students Safe

Mental health and safety are critical issues in our communities. The impacts of the long pandemic and a variety of challenges in society are weighing on our children in numerous ways. We all need to do our part to help them cope with these pressures mentally, psychologically, and emotionally.

During this panel discussion, we were joined by Toni McPherson, Director of Information Systems and Services at Beaumont ISD, and Bob Boyd, Director of Information Technology at Kettle Moraine School District. They volunteered their time to help you understand how they are using technology to help keep their students, staff, and communities safe.

Technology is not a replacement for increasing mental health care workers in schools, training staff, and improving access to mental health services for students. However, it can be a crucial tool in your district's comprehensive school mental health program—as many administrators are experiencing.

This recorded discussion covers:

• The types of mental health and safety risks that students are experiencing, and how those trends have changed over the years
• Why technology is a critical part of districts’ mental health and safety toolkit
• How technology teams can work with student resources and/or school leaders to enable effective crisis intervention
• What technologies are recommended and what to look for in potential vendor(s)/partner(s)