What is Parents and Teachers as Allies?
Parents and Teachers as Allies is a no-cost, one to two hour in-service program that focuses on helping school professionals and families within the school community better understand the early warning signs of mental illnesses in children and adolescents. It also covers the lived experience of mental illnesses and how schools can best communicate with families about mental health related concerns.
This program responds to the recommendations included in Goal 4 of President Bush’s New Freedom Commission report on mental health. This report calls for schools to play a larger role in the early identification of mental health treatment needs in children and in linking them to appropriate services. Our program is based on NAMI’s highly successful Parents and Teachers as Allies (PTasA) publication.
Components of the in-service education program include the following:
The Ending the Silence presentation is similar to the Parents and Teachers as Allies presentation. It is a 50 minute presentation for students, but it is also beneficial for adults. If Parents and Teachers as Allies is of interest to you, you may want to review the Ending the Silence page also.
For more information or to request a presentation, please contact:
Parents & Teachers as Allies Coordinator
(520) 622-5582, ext. 110
This program is designed for teachers, administrators, school health professionals, parents and others in the community. The program is designed to target schools in urban, suburban, rural, and culturally diverse communities. The toolkit is being developed to be culturally sensitive and will soon include a Spanish language version.