Aug 18, 2023
Below are some suggestions intended to help you explore the best option for screening at your school. Please do not take these suggestions as “musts”. Rely on your professional opinion and your scope of knowledge.
Communication and Education for Parents
It is suggested that schools plan communication weeks in advance regarding education related to universal screening; why their school is adopting it, outline the process for the parents and their students, and what they can expect after their student has completed a screener.
A few ways to reach out to parents are through emails, physical letters/flyers, or parent nights. Anything to inform and engage parents along the way.
Parental Consent
You should check with your state laws if your school should adopt opt-in or opt- out consents for universal mental health screening.
Use multiple formats to make parents aware of universal mental health screenings: emails, message portals, banner on the school website, flyers, Maro’s parent app notifications, text messages.
Cultural Considerations
It is crucial to consider the diverse backgrounds of students. Different communities have their own unique cultural values that need to be taken into account and some students might be dealing with complex stress from poverty, immigration, or language barriers. It's also important to recognize that views on mental health and how to address related issues can vary widely among different cultural groups.
When it comes to obtaining consent for mental health screening, there are additional cultural factors to consider. Students and families from minority backgrounds might feel uneasy or distrustful about the screening process. To address this, it's helpful to have cultural liaisons and translators involved. These individuals can explain the purpose of the screening in a way that's culturally appropriate and in the family's preferred language.
It's also important to make sure that all team members, including translators and cultural liaisons, are easily accessible to answer questions and provide support to families if needed.
Who can administer screenings
A licensed or credentialed health professional at either the school or district level must be present to lead the screening process. If a licensed or credentialed health professional is only available at the district level, this person should be on site when screening is taking place. Teachers and other admin can help administer screenings, but can not proctor screenings without a licensed mental health professional present at the school that day.
Who can view students' results
Mental health professionals or other health professionals like school nurses at the school are the only people who are able to view student screening results. Students will not see their results after they complete the survey. If they wish to see their results, they should contact a counselor. When hearing about their results, students should be in the presence of a counselor who can talk through the meaning of their results with them. This is to avoid causing panic or confusion about what results mean. Parents can request to view results from their school.
How to screen
Opt out school: Screen in a group setting whether it is during homeroom/advisory or the library/computer lab. Give instructions to all students in the group/classroom. If a certain child’s parent has opted them out, they will login, but it will not let them take a screener. A screen will show explaining to the student that their parents opted them out, and that they can wait at their desk until the teacher excuses them. We suggest this so students don’t feel singled out in front of their peers.
Opt in school: Depending on how many students are opted in for screening, you may want to bring the group of students who will participate in screening into a different area. If this does not make sense for your school,you can still have all students log in.hey will not be able to complete the screener if their parent has not consented.
We provide a screening script for all screening admins/assistants. We suggest sticking to this script to create consistency.
If you have a student who needs to take the survey in another language, please let us know in advance.
Who to screen
We suggest that you start small on your first round of screening to make sure the plan you put in place works well for your school. You might choose to start with a portion of one grade. It is, of course, up to your school who you would like to screen — it can be a small group of students, or universal screening or something in between. We just want to make sure that you have enough staff to review results, make appropriate referrals and provide crisis support in a timely manner.
What time of the year to screen
We suggest screening at least twice per school year. It is important to be mindful of when you screen students so that you have enough time for follow up. For example, you will not want to screen on a Friday, the day or few days before a holiday or holiday break, so that you can allow your team enough time to talk to the students and families if needed.
You might also want to be mindful about when standardized testing is taking place at your school and to plan for screening weeks apart from standardized testing, if you can.
What time of day is best to screen
Earlier in the day is best, so students have a bit more energy and focus.