Winnacunnet High School Students Help Build Mental Health Curriculum

HAMPTON, NH — Nearly a dozen Winnacunnet High School students and 12 staff members are set to take on a big role in the school's curriculum planning after being trained in National Alliance on Mental Illness Connect youth leader training in December, officials announced last week.

The Connect youth leader program engages a core group of youth leaders who work with trained adults on the Connect curriculum for other teens, according to the school's superintendent, Meredith Nadeau.

Youth leaders learn to co-present the Connect training through activities and by rehearsing sections of the training, while Connect staff "observe, interact, and provide coaching," officials said.

Officials emphasized that youth leader training emphasizes that the role of the student is to seek help from a trusted adult when there is a concern, not take on the role of a counselor.

Students were able to participate thanks to Seacoast Women's Giving Circle, which approached Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Mary Toomey asking to provide the Connect Youth Leader training to Winnacunnet students, according to Nadaeu.

After the new year, the youth leaders and staff hit the ground running, hosting their first follow-up meeting the week they returned from holiday break.

Over the next couple of weeks, they will teach the mental health unit in the sophomore wellness classes and plan other "meaningful action steps to broaden their impact across the school," according to officials.

This will include creating media and presentations for first-year classes and ensuring participation in the Superintendent's Student Leadership Team, officials said.

"The Connect Youth student leaders are fired up in the best way possible," Winnacunnet High School social worker Talley Westerberg said in a news release Thursday. "We are so proud of their dedication and passion to help others, which was demonstrated by their enthusiasm to participate in the Connect Youth Leader Training. We cannot wait to see what they come up with for their future training sessions!"