July 26, 2022
City Schools monitors the needs and potential risks to student’s mental health throughout the calendar year, including during the summer months. During the school year, one way we do that is using a tool called Beacon, which alerts district staff when a student uses their City Schools laptop to search for content related to self harm. You can learn more about the tool here.
During the summer months, most students are not using City Schools-issued laptops. During that time, we deactivate Beacon. However, for students attending our summer program, we continue to support and monitor mental health by ensuring there are social workers onsite and community mental health partners available, if needed.
For students not attending City Schools’ programs, families can reach out to their schools’ Community School Coordinator for mental health resources and/or referrals. Resources are available through local, state and national organizations linked below:
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
- Behavioral Health System - Baltimore: 410-433-5175
- 211 Maryland - Health & Human Services: 211
Families should also continue to have conversations with students about us safe online behavior and mental health. These resources can help:
Families can also connect with Ashley Collins, the district’s mental health coordinator. Ms. Collins can provide families with further assistance. She may be reached via email at Email Ashley Collins.
Finally, there are things that families can do to support appropriate online activity for their students. These include:
Only allowing children to access the internet while supervised. This might include moving the computer into a shared space in the house.
Using your internet provider’s parental controls to manage what students are allowed to access.
Subscribe to a family content filter.