In an effort to reform our schools and improve the well-being of FUSD students, GENup Fremont has undergone extensive research to compile a list of mental health recommendations for the district to adopt. These recommendations will be formally presented to key stakeholders at our Mental Health Town Hall meeting on Sunday, January 3rd, which you can register for at bit.ly/mhth-reg.

December 16th, 2020

Dear Fremont Board of Education President Larry Sweeney; Board of Education Members Desrie Campbell, Dianne Jones, Vivek Prasad, Yajing Zhang, and Student Member Zayaan Khan; Fremont Unified School District Superintendent Christopher "CJ" Cammack and Assistant Superintendent Leticia Salinas,

Mental health is one of the foremost issues impacting students in the 21st century. Students face high levels of depression and anxiety, and these issues are only being exacerbated through the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We recognize the challenges in implementation, given the district’s pending budget cuts, and we appreciate the School Board’s decision on November 12, 2020 to commit to re-investing its $838,000 contribution to the school policing program into mental health support. We urge the district to take further responsibility in prioritizing proactive and preventative solutions to these issues, rather than relying on reactive ones (i.e. 5150s), and as such, ask the district to comply with the following recommendations:

STEP ONE: Hiring Staff / Training

1. The district should hire staff to gradually meet the professionally recommended ratios for counselors, school psychologists, nurses, behaviorists, speech-language pathologists, and social workers, and negotiate new bargaining agreements based on the required ratios.
   1. The district should actively recruit a diverse pool of staff from HBCUs, AANAPISI, and HSIs for these roles. Additionally, the district should hire professionals who specialize in the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).
2. All FUSD personnel, starting with mental health professionals, should receive training in cultural competency/reciprocity
3. All mental health professionals and administrators should receive 12-14 hours of training from the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). This training should become mandated for all administrators.

STEP TWO: School Frameworks for Supporting Mental Health Well-Being

4. Develop a district-wide plan for proper implementation of the following frameworks with progress monitoring and data-based instructional decisions. This implementation plan should be based on CDE Guidelines for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
1. Academic MTSS: Evidence-Based Dyslexia Intervention and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
2. Behavioral MTSS: Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior Intervention Systems and Trauma-Sensitive/ Trauma-Informed Support
3. Social Emotional MTSS: Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

STEP THREE: Student, Parent, and Community Engagement

5. Implement student education initiatives for all K-12 students at all school sites, including:
1. Year-round education on mental health awareness and healthy coping strategies
2. Social Emotional Learning curriculum (e.g. Strong Kids, Strong Teens, Everyday Speech, Social Thinking, GIRLS—Girls in Real Life Situations, Kimochis)
3. Peer counseling and conflict resolution training
4. Cultural competency and cultural humility training for students
6. Implement parent and community education initiatives, including: bi-cultural parenting workshops, wellness programs, and workshops on de-stigmatizing mental health that are accessible to English-as-a-second-language (ESL) speakers
7. To make mental health literacy more accessible to ESL speakers, mental health information should be posted online and available in the following languages: Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, Tagalog
8. Develop Onsite & Virtual Wellness Centers for the junior high/middle and high schools in each attendance area (e.g. IHS Wellness Center)
9. Further expand partnerships with local and regional mental health agencies to broaden support for all students

STEP FOUR: Informed Decision Making and Benchmarks

10. Create district-wide mental health teams that are facilitated by mental health professionals. These teams should be compensated for their efforts, have clearly defined goals/expectations, and report to the board on a quarterly basis:
1. District Leadership/Mental Health Professional Liaison Team to review school policies and procedures related to mental health and special education and develop implementation plans as needed
2. MTSS Implementation Team that is broken down into 3 subteams:
• Academic subteam: Implements UDL and Evidence-Based Dyslexia Intervention
• Behavior subteam: Implements Restorative Practices and Culturally Responsive PBIS
• Social Emotional subteam: Implements SEL curriculum and mental health awareness education
3. Disability Rights Advisory Team to review policies and disciplinary procedures that systematically affect the educational outcomes of students with disabilities. This team should include members of the Special Education Parent Teachers Association (SEPTA) and Special Education Community Advisory Committee (CAC).
11. Work with the City of Fremont and the school site PTAs to build support for a parcel tax. Collaborate on education initiatives to inform the community on the need for mental health services.
12. Create universal, indicated, and selective benchmarks (see footnotes) to assess the implementation of existing and future programs. Report these benchmarks to both the school board and the community at-large on a quarterly basis.

With the end goal of bettering our school environment and improving the well-being of our students, we urge district management, school board trustees, and city leadership to assume liability and invest in these recommendations, which emphasize prevention and continued support.

We recognize that steps 1 and 2 of the recommendations will require more resources to implement. We ask that the district implement steps 3 and 4 of the recommendations immediately and commit to gradually implementing steps 1 and 2 of the recommendations.

Again, this petition and its recommendations will be discussed in depth at our Mental Health Town Hall meeting on January 3rd at 5pm, which you can register for at bit.ly/mhth-reg.

Thank you for signing on and showing your support for our students.

Signed,

320 Students, Alumni, Parents, Educators, and Community Members