An Insider’s Guide to
Working with School
Boards in Ontario
Sandy Palinski
Manager, Special Education Policy and Programs Branch
Ontario Ministry of Education
Kathy Short
Director, School Mental Health ASSIST
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Objectives
• To welcome you as a partner in the Ontario
Mental Health and Addictions Strategy
• To provide context about the education
sector & our commitments to the Strategy
• To help you to successfully navigate the
complex world of school boards
WELCOME!
The Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Strategy is
an exciting initiative and we all have an important role
to play in ensuring success…for the children and youth
in our province.
Overview
• Brief Tour of the Education Sector
• EDU Commitments to the MHA Strategy
• About School Mental Health ASSIST
• Understanding School Board Culture
• Practical Considerations and Suggestions
A Brief Tour of
THE EDUCATION SECTOR IN
ONTARIO
Federal Responsibilities
 Federal government responsibilities with regard to education:
 education of Aboriginal students (especially on Reserves)
 funding of instruction of and in the official language of the minority
(English in Québec, French in other provinces and territories)
 funding of programs to welcome newcomers to schools
 education of inmates in federal prisons
 funding of adult training for the labour market
 funding of university research
 scholarship and loan programs for students in postsecondary
 education of members of the armed forces
Council of Ministers of Education
 Because Canada has no federal Department of Education, a
coordinating organization was needed
 The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) was
established in 1967 as a forum in which Ministers of Education
deal with issues of mutual interest and concern
 All 13 provinces and territories are members, but not the federal
government
 Through the Council, Ministers consult and act on matters of
mutual interest, and they consult and cooperate with national
education organizations and the federal government
http://www.cmec.ca
Government & Education in Ontario
 Ontario follows the British parliamentary system: Government
departments are headed by Ministers , elected MPPs who have
been appointed by the Premier to Cabinet
 The Minister of Education is responsible for child care,
elementary and secondary education. The Minister of Training,
Colleges and Universities is responsible for employment /training
programs and postsecondary education.
 Deputy Ministers are civil servants responsible for operation
 Through the Education Act, the Ministry of Education provides
leadership and develops education policy
Ministry of Education Priorities
The Ministry of Education seeks to promote a strong,
vibrant, publicly funded education system that is focused
on three goals:
1.
High levels of student achievement
2. Reduced gaps in student achievement
3. Increasing levels of public confidence in publicly
funded education
District School Boards
 The Education Act delegates responsibility for governance of
schools to four sets of district school boards, all of which are
fully funded by the provincial government
 Ontario’s 5,000 publicly funded schools are grouped in 72 district
school boards:

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31 English Public (secular or non-religious: open to all students)
29 English Catholic
4 French Public
8 French Catholic
Our context, our challenge
DID YOU KNOW??
Structure of District School Boards
Trustees
Elected every 4 years
Receive honoraria (are not salaried)
---------------------------------------------Staff
Are employees of the school boards
Key Responsibilities of School Boards
Opening and closing of schools
Administration /enforcement of policy
Implementation of programs
Delivery of curriculum
Trustees
------------Director of
Education
Superintendents
Principals and Managers
Teachers and Support Staff
Publicly Funded Schools
 Elementary schools usually offer
 Junior Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Grade 1 to Grade 8 (ages 3 or 4 to 13 or 14)
 Secondary schools
 Grade 9 to Grade 12 (ages 13 or 14 to 17 or 18)
 Provincial schools
 The ministry directly administers eight Provincial and Demonstration
Schools for deaf, blind, deaf/blind, and severely disabled students; About
800 students are enrolled in the Provincial and Demonstration Schools
Education in Ontario: Quick Facts
 Publicly funded schools in Ontario = 4,923
 4026 elementary
 897 secondary
 Number of students = almost 2 million
 1,355,440 elementary
 715,296 secondary
 Number of teachers in publicly funded schools = 116,179
 72,207 elementary
 43,972 secondary
 Number of principals /vice-principals in publicly funded schools = 7,368
 5,375 elementary
 1,993 secondary
Ontario Ministry of Education
COMMITMENTS TO THE MENTAL
HEALTH & ADDICTIONS STRATEGY
INDICATORS
THEMES
OVERVIEW OF THE MENTAL HEALTH & ADDICTIONS
STRATEGY - FIRST 3YEARS
Provide fast access to high quality
service
Identify and intervene in kids’ mental
health needs early
Kids and families will know where to go to get what
they need and services will be available to respond
in a timely way.
Professionals in community-based child and youth
mental health agencies and teachers will learn how to
identify and respond to the mental health needs of kids.
• Reduced child and youth suicides/suicide
attempts
• Educational progress (EQAO)
• More professionals trained to identify
kids’ mental health needs
• Fewer school suspensions and/or
expulsions
• Higher parent satisfaction in services
received
Improve public access to
service information
INITIATIVES
• Higher graduation rates
Funding to increase supply
of child and youth mental
health professionals
Reduce wait times for service,
revise service contracting,
standards, and reporting
Close critical service gaps for vulnerable
kids, kids in key transitions, and those in
remote communities
Kids will receive the type of specialized service they need
and it will be culturally appropriate
• Decrease in severity of mental health
issues through treatment
• Decrease in inpatient admission rates
for child and youth mental health
Pilot Family Support
Navigator model
Y1 pilot
Implement Working
Together for Kids’ Mental
Health
Implement
standardized tools for
outcomes and needs
assessment
Increase Youth Mental
Health Court Workers
Amend education
curriculum to cover
mental health promotion
and address stigma
Develop K-12 resource
guide for educators
Outcomes, indicators
and development of
scorecard
Implement school
mental health ASSIST
program &mental health
literacy provincially
Provide designated
mental health
workers in schools
• Fewer hospital (ER) admissions and
readmissions for child and youth mental
health
• Reduced Wait Times
Enhance and expand
Telepsychiatry model and
services
Hire new Aboriginal
workers Implement
Aboriginal Mental Health
Worker Training Program
Expand inpatient/outpatient
services for child and youth
eating disorders
Provide support at key
transition points
Improve service
coordination for high needs
kids, youth and families
Hire Nurse Practitioners for
eating disorders program
15
Implement Mental Health
Leaders in selected
School Boards
Provide nurses in schools
to support mental health
services
Create 18 service
collaboratives
Strategy Evaluation
Interconnected Initiatives
Community
settings
Health care
settings
School Boards
MCYS
MOHLTC
MH Workers with Schools
Working Together
Student Support Leadership
Initiative (SSLI)
EDU
SMH ASSIST
SSLI
Nurse Leaders
MHA Nurses in DSB program
Service Collaboratives
SSLI
The MHA Strategy Recognizes that
Schools Have a Unique Opportunity
Schools are an optimal setting
in which to:
 Reduce stigma
 Promote positive mental health
 Build social-emotional learning skills
 Prevent mental health problems in
high risk groups
 Identify students in need
 Create bridges to needed services
EDU Strategy Commitments
• Amend the education curriculum
• Develop a K-12 Resource Guide/Website
• Provide support for professional learning in mental
health and addictions for all Ontario educators
• Fund and support Mental Health Leaders
• Implement School Mental Health ASSIST
Related EDU Initiatives
LNS
SS_Lto18
Healthy
Schools
K-12 School
Effectiveness
Framework
Fund and
support
Mental Health
Leaders in
school boards
BIP for Student
Achievement
Equity and
Inclusive
Education
Strategy
Provide support
for professional
learning in
mental health
and addictions
for educators
Mental Health
& Addictions
Strategy
Connections
Amend the
education
curriculum
Aboriginal
Education
Strategy
Positive
School
Climate
Accepting and
Safe Schools
Strategy
Learning
for All
Implement
School
Mental
Health ASSIST
Develop a K12 Resource
Guide
/Website
Leadership
Strategy
Growing
Success
Student Voice
Parent
Engagement
School Mental Health is Not New
• Schools and communities in Ontario and elsewhere
have been dealing with these issues for decades
• Inconsistent, fragmented approaches, with pockets
of excellence…
• What’s new is the galvanizing of research, policy
and practice to reach an integrated solution to a
complex problem
OUT OF THE SHADOWS AT LAST
The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs,
Science and Technology
The Honourable Michael J. L. Kirby, Chair
May 2006
Making the school a site for the effective
delivery of mental health services involves
several key steps. First, its potential must
be recognized.
National School Mental Health
• School-Based Mental Health & Substance Abuse Consortium
•
•
•
•
Canada’s Mental Health Strategy (MHCC)
Evergreen
National Infant Child & Youth Mental Health Consortium
Opening Minds
•
•
•
•
Joint Consortium for School Health
Public Health Agency of Canada
Canadian Association for School Health
Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse
Release of SBMHSA Findings
Meta-Synthesis of Reviews
MH Promotion
School/Class-wide
Social Emotional
Learning is
associated with
enhanced prosocial
ability and academic
achievement
Prevention
Intervention/
Ongoing Care
Internalizing
Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy /
Behavior Therapy that is skillbased and builds protective
factors can reduce symptoms
CBT/BT focused on core
elements like social problem
solving, cognitive
restructuring, relaxation
Externalizing
Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy /
Behavior Therapy that builds
conflict resolution and anger
management skills can reduce
symptoms
CBT/BT focused on core
elements like identifying cues
for aggression, resisting
automatic aggressive
impulses, alternative
behaviors
Substance
Use
Mixed results – best strategies
are interactive and build refusal
and life skills
Insufficient evidence
Release of SBMHSA Findings
Scan of Nominated Best Practices
 Report of 150 nominated programs and strategies, from every province
 Across the Evergreen continuum
 Development and adaptation driven by need, resulting in islands of
innovation
 Inconsistent alignment with evidence, inconsistent use of local
evaluation
 Actionable messages
 Build tools to support coherence and decision-making
 NATIONAL SCAN DATABASE
 Support evaluation and scale up of research-consistent programs
Release of SBMHSA Findings
National Survey of Schools and Boards
Broad Findings
85% of board-level respondents, and 65% of school-level participants, indicated they were
concerned or very concerned about student mental health and/or substance use
Over 80% of respondents indicated that there are unmet student mental health and/or
substance use needs in their board or school
Most Common – Problems With: attention & learning, anxiety, substance use, social
relationships & bullying, oppositional behavior & aggression, depressed mood
Identified need for organizational conditions at the school and board level (board policy, clear
service pathways, infrastructure, role clarity, systematic PD)
Inconsistent coverage of the continuum of care in boards and schools. Primary focus on
identification and referral, individual intervention and crisis intervention
Implementation Barriers include: insufficient resources in schools/communities, insufficient
qualified staff in school boards, need for parent engagement/collaboration, need for
promotion/prevention programming, need for systematic PD for educators
International School Mental Health
• International Alliance for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
in Schools http://www.intercamhs.net/
• US – Canada Alliance for School Mental Health
• Advances in School Mental Health Promotion
• Key conferences featuring School Mental Health
 7th Annual World Conference on Mental Health Promotion and Treatment of Behavioral
Disorders, October 17-19, Perth, Australia
 17th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health, October 25-27, Salt Lake City,
Utah
 26th Annual Children’s Mental Health Research and Policy Conference, March 3-6, Tampa,
Florida
Taking Mental Health to School Ontario
• Different models of mental health service delivery
across boards (Taking Mental Health to School, 2009)
 Variable leadership structures, variable levels and types of professional
support, variable relationship with community, variable range of services
• Educators are very concerned about student mental
health, but feel ill-prepared to provide support
• Acknowledgement of promising supports (e.g.,
Student Support Leadership Initiative)
Need for leadership, coordination, access to
evidence-based approaches, implementation
support, evaluation
School Mental
Health ASSIST
is a provincial implementation
support team designed to
help Ontario school boards to
promote student mental
health and well-being,
through leadership, practical
resources and systematic
research-based approaches
to school mental health.
Leadership Structure

Ontario Ministry of Education Lead
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School Board Lead
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Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
SMH ASSIST Core Team
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
Special Education Policy & Programs Branch
Director, and 4+ P/T Implementation Coaches (3 Senior School Mental Health
Professionals, 1 Superintendent),.5 Research Associate (new!)
Cross-Sector Partners
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Interministerial Staff Team
Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child & Youth MH
Provincial Stakeholder Organizations
 Evaluation and Implementation Consultation Team

Drs. Michael Boyle, Bruce Ferguson, Tom Kratochwill, Robert Lucio, Ian Manion,
Doris McWhorter, Karen Milligan, Caroline Parkin, Joyce Sebian, Mark Weist
Priorities
1. Organizational Conditions for
Effective School Mental Health
2. Mental Health Capacity-Building
for Educators
3. Implementation of EvidenceBased Mental Health Promotion
and Prevention Programming
Organizational Conditions
Top 10 List
1.
Commitment
6.
Standard Processes
Leadership Team
7.
PD Protocols
3.
Clear & Focused Vision
8.
School Mental Health
4.
Shared Language
5.
Assessment of Initial
9.
Broad Collaboration
Capacity
10.
Ongoing Quality
2.
School Mental Health
Strategy / Action Plan
Improvement
Capacity-Building
Mental Health
Awareness
Mental Health Literacy
Mental Health
Expertise
Basic mental health
information, tailored for
different school board
audiences
Deeper working knowledge
for those who have a direct
role in supporting student
mental health (creating
mentally healthy schools &
classrooms, recognizing early
signs of difficulty)
Skills and knowledge for
SMH professionals to
effectively provide
evidence-based
promotion, prevention,
and intervention
ALL
SOME
FEW
 Capacity Building is not an event! It is an iterative deepening
of knowledge embedded in school board life. It takes time.
 Resources should be tailored for different education audiences
Mental Health Promotion & Prevention
• Not all programming in school mental health is helpful
for all students. Some programming, though wellintentioned, is benign or harmful for certain populations.
• Program implementation standards are critical
(training, coaching, fidelity to protocols, evaluation)
• SMH ASSIST can help boards to select and sustain
appropriate mental health promotion and prevention
programs and strategies
Support to ALL Ontario boards
Resources
• Webinar series, other staff
development materials
• Decision support tools
• Templates
• School Administrators’
Toolkit
Consultation
Workshops
Representation on
provincial reference
groups & committees
Focus Boards
• 15 boards were Focus Boards in 2011-2012,
another 15 announced for 2012-2013
• Boards receive 1 FTE Mental Health Leader and
SMH ASSIST support
• Reciprocal relationship with SMH ASSIST
ASSIST provides leadership & implementation support
Focus Boards help with piloting resources that will be
rolled out to all boards in time
Focus Boards
Algoma DSB
Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic DSB
CSD Catholiques Centre-Sud
CSD des écoles catholiques du Sud-Ouest
CSD du Nord-Est de l'Ontario
District School Board of Niagara
Hamilton-Wentworth DSB
Hastings and Prince Edward DSB
Huron-Superior Catholic DSB
Keewatin-Patricia DSB
Kenora Catholic District School Board
Peel DSB
Simcoe-Muskoka Catholic DSB
Toronto Catholic DSB
Trillium Lakelands DSB
CSD catholique des Grandes Rivières
CSD du Grand Nord de l'Ontario
Grand Erie DSB
Halton DSB
Lakehead DSB
Lambton Kent DSB
London District Catholic DSB
Northeastern Catholic DSB
Ontario North East DSB
Ottawa Catholic DSB
Simcoe County DSB
Thunder Bay Catholic DSB
Toronto DSB
Upper Grand DSB
York Catholic DSB
Selected for geographic, language,
Catholic/Public representation, along a
continuum of School Mental Health
capacity
Mental Health Leaders
• Mental Health Leaders are senior mental health professionals
hired by District School Boards to:

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Provide leadership & coordination in school mental health,
conduct/update a mental health needs assessment,
co-create a Board Mental Health Strategy,
oversee the implementation of the Board MH Strategy,
support community collaboration
• Mental Health Leaders work closely with Superintendents with
responsibility for mental health, and existing school mental
health professionals to tailor the role for the board
Work within a community of practice, participate in
SMH ASSIST leadership modules, receive ongoing
coaching
Visit SMH ASSIST
http://smh-assist.ca/
Understanding
School Board
Culture
What Life in School Boards is
Really Like…
A day in the life of a school
• We teach students, age 3 through 18+, literacy,
numeracy, content, character, coping, career…
• We get them to school safely on buses, feed them, clean
up cut knees and wipe away tears, watch them play,
learn, make mistakes, and help one another
• We provide extra support to vulnerable students
• We assess progress, maintain records, aggregate data
• We reach out to parents
• We collaborate with our community partners
We support one another, and our students , every day…
Education Priorities
• Academic learning is our primary responsibility
• Important to make the connections between
mental health and academic achievement
• Boards create an annual achievement plan (BIPSA)
• Schools create an annual achievement plan (SIP)
• Boards and schools follow a planning / monitoring
process called the School Effectiveness Framework
Getting Started…
• Learn about the board(s) – they are each unique
• Make contact with the Superintendent
responsible for student mental health
• Connect with the Mental Health Leader, if
present & the Chief Social Worker / Psychologist
• Confirm expectations for the role (scope, focus)
Some Good Questions…
• Who has lead responsibility for student mental
health in the board?
• Is there a board mental health leadership team?
May I join?
• Who provides mental health services in the board
currently? Who does what?
• Does the board have a mental health strategy?
What are the key priorities?
Resource Mapping
• If your board has a Mental Health Leader, then a
resource mapping will have been completed
• This mapping is meant to illuminate system
strengths and gaps, for use in the development
of the board mental health strategy
• In many boards, the mapping extends to
school level resource/program
information, to assist with school
programming decisions
Professional Learning
• Movement towards
working together in a
climate of collective
inquiry towards a clear
focused educational goal
• Cross-classroom, crossdivision, cross-school,
cross-department, crossboard
• Aligns with research on
adult learning and teacher
preferences
Tiers of Intervention
• Key initiatives that are foundational to mental
health ascribe to a tiered model of intervention
(e.g., Student Success, Learning for All)
• This aligns with the national Evergreen
framework, and the public health model
 Mental health promotion, prevention, intervention and ongoing care
• Boards deliver promotion & prevention routinely,
and many have mental health professionals who
provide intervention services
But there is much to do and we rely on our partners for help!
Tiered Support in Systems of Care
E-B Clinical
Intervention
Community
Evidence-Based Clinical
Intervention
Targeted EvidenceBased Prevention
Universal Evidence-Based
Mental Health Promotion, SocialEmotional Learning
School Boards
Targeted EvidenceBased Prevention
Universal E-B Mental
Health Promotion
Questions for Reflection…
Contact Information
Sandy Palinski
Manager, Special Education Policy & Programs Branch
Ontario Ministry of Education
Sandy.Palinski@ontario.ca
Kathy Short
Director, School Mental Health ASSIST
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Kathy.Short@hwdsb.on.ca