GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On Wednesday, Grand Rapids Public Schools leaders held a meeting on mental health and student safety, the second such forum held by the district since multiple students brought guns to classrooms during the 2022-2023 school year.
Officials stressed that in order to reduce incidents in the future, GRPS needs to prioritize their scholars' emotional needs just as much as the physical ones.
“The more our staff are mentally stable and safe, the more likely they will be able to provide that care and support or recognition to our scholars,” said Mel Atkins II, executive director of community and student affairs for GRPS.
According to Atkins, who oversees the district's mental health resources, GRPS has 24 therapists, and while that may not seem like very many, three years ago, the district had zero therapists.
An employee assistance program was also added this past school year.
Atkins noted that GRPS partners with other organizations like Kent School Services Network, Family Outreach Center, and D.A. Blodgett to provide further support to students and teachers.
READ: Safety remains top priority for GRPS after child brings gun to school
He also said the district is constantly seeking out funding opportunities and recruits for hard-to-fill positions all year, but sometimes faces challenges such as a nationwide lack of social workers.
Atkins sat on Wednesday’s panel with four other community members who work as counselors in West Michigan.
The care shown to children by adults, like teachers and parents, helps keep those kids safe inside and outside the classroom, the panelists told the crowd.
The counselors went on to encourage adults to speak openly and honestly with students and acknowledge their feelings and experiences.
“We really have to do active listening, active observing, and we have to almost go out of our, whether it’s uncomfortable or it makes us look absolutely silly,” said Kerby Killingham, an LPC with Decisions Counseling Group. “We have to meet kids on their level and where they are to actually break through and get that level of vulnerability and transparency that we need.”
At the meeting, GRPS announced that it will make a decision by July about whether to continue the backpack ban it implemented at the end of the year when a third-grader carried a loaded gun into an elementary school.
The district is also looking to purchase more metal detectors, but additional details were not made available.
