Bathroom Reboot
Narragansett Middle School
Training for Early Childhood Providers
The Communities That Care Coalition is one of the sponsors of an upcoming training series, The How of Child and Family Engagement. The focus is primarily on helping providers connect with and support family relationships as parents navigate the challenges of the early childhood years. It’s designed to strengthen parent-provider relationships as well as relationships within families.
Phone Free Schools Legislation for MA
Legislation has just been filed in the Massachusetts Senate and House requiring all schools in Massachusetts (K-12) to implement bell-to-bell (all day) phone and social media free policies. The Massachusetts Teachers Association, Education Secretary, and Attorney General have all come out in support. For more information about this legislation, see this Briefing Doc with FAQs, for relevant statistics see this Infographic from Phone-Free Schools Movement, and to sign your name or agency in support of this bill click for this Community Support Letter.
Away for the Day
“Away For The Day” is a movement giving parents, teachers, community leaders, and concerned individuals tools so that they can go to your school and help institute policies where devices are put away all day at school in lockers, backpacks, or turned in.
2024 Student Health Survey Data Released
The Communities That Care released the 2024 Student Health Survey data on Friday, October 19th, at meetings at the North Quabbin Community Coalition and Baystate Franklin Medical Center. The data presentation can be found HERE and the Greenfield Recorder published a series of four articles based on the data. Find a PDF of the Recorder’s four articles HERE or go to these links on the Recorder’s Website:
Survey shows drop in youth drug, alcohol use in Franklin County, North Quabbin
Communities That Care Coalition survey shows decrease in youth self-harm, suicidal planning
Survey shows teen screen use, on the rise since 2007, dips from 2021 peak
Survey shows seven-year peak in student bullying in Franklin County, North Quabbin
New York Times Podcast Highlights Unexpected Harms from Cannabis Use
The New York Times’ podcast The Daily featured some of the unexpected health effects from cannabis, an important listen for many youth, parents, and adults who work with youth. The podcast can be found HERE or anywhere you download podcasts.
Coalition Meeting and Data Release October 18th
Please join the Communities That Care Coalition for the release and discussion of the 2024 Student Health Survey data on Friday, October 18th. New information on school climate, substance use, mental health, screen time, and equity locally. All welcome!
Two options for participation:
In person: 11am to 1pm at the Communities That Care Coalition’s Fall Full Coalition meeting at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, 164 High Street in Greenfield, in the hospital conference rooms. Lunch provided. Registration at: https://tinyurl.com/CommunitiesThatCareOct2024
By zoom: 9am to 10:45am at the North Quabbin Community Coalition’s October monthly forum. Invite Link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86721708478
Talk.Listen.Repeat Tools and resources to help you start the conversation with your kids about substance use. From our friends at the SPIFFY Coalition in Hampshire County.
“Perspectives on Trauma” on GCTV
Ahmad Esfahani interviewed Leigh-Ellen Figueroa and Ilana Gerjuoy on his series on GCTV titled “Perspectives on Trauma”. On the series Esfahani interviews people from around Western Massachusetts about the topic of trauma. You can watch the interview HERE.
US Surgeon General Calls for Warning Labels on Social Media
The US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has called for Congress to act to require Warning Labels on social media platforms like we have for tobacco and alcohol. Dr. Murthy argues that the mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor. He says that adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours. Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.
Read the full article in the New York Times HERE.