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Montana gets $9M grant to address school mental health issues; Billings gets $3M

Billings Gazette - 9/22/2020

Sep. 22--BillingsPublic Schools will get $3 million as part of a federal grant to attempt to address mental health issues and volatile behaviors in schools.

The grant is part of a $9 million package headed to Montana as part of a collaboration between Billings, Dillon schools, Rocky Boy schools, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction and Department of Health and Human Services.

School District 2 Superintendent Greg Upham called extreme behaviors among students, "the highest need issue, I believe, in SD2." He cited a "stark increase" in injury incidents during which a student struck an educator -- 412 in the last five years.

"I've watched building administrators leave the profession because they just can't manage it," Upham said at Monday's virtual school board meeting.

The grant will be used to hire three behavioral specialists, up from the one the district had last year. Schools will also have access to mental health professionals from RiverStone Health, and will expand some existing training and initiatives like the PAX Good Behavior Game.

It reflects an increasing emphasis on trauma informed education in schools. A growing body of research has shown that traumatic experiences can effectively rewire kids' brains, locking them into fight-or-flight mode and negatively affecting their behavior. However, research also shows that those changes can be addressed.

A popular consensus in Montana is that methamphetamine use drives some of that, either because of a direct impact on kids or because of violent behavior they see while adults use the drug.

Work on the five-year grant will kick off quickly, said SD2 administrator Kim Anthony. The district had been part of a previous effort to apply for a similar grant in 2019 that didn't come through.

Some of the resources will tap into existing programs through a statewide behavioral framework that helps determine how schools should try to address student behavioral problems; for example, could a widespread class-level program help, or does a kid need more intensive work with a specialist?

All are "evidence based and culturally competent mental health practices," Anthony said.

The Office of Public Instruction announced that the $9 million grant came through Monday.

"The OPI is very fortunate to receive this grant for Montana a second time as we will be able to work with three more districts in the state to build much needed supports for schools, students and families," said Coordinated School Health Unit Director Holly Mook, who Anthony said helped write the grant.

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