Marketing School Mental Health to School Administrators

1. Marketing School Mental Health to School Administrators

2. Acknowledgements • School Mental Health Capacity Building Partnership • CDC-Division of Adolescent and School Health • Center for School Mental Health • Marketing SMH to School Administrators Workgroup • Brenda Brown • Josh Edelman • Laura Hurwitz, staff • Carl E. Paternite, chair • Olga Acosta Price • Lisa Rubenstein • Morton Sherman

3. Learning Objectives • Define and identify benefits of SMH • Define and identify steps in a social marketing process • Develop and deliver key messages about the importance of SMH • Develop preliminary social marketing action plans/strategies incorporating messages about the importance of SMH

4. Why Educational Leaders?Why You? • School administrators are critical to the success of school mental health (SMH) initiatives • School administrators are instrumental in helping to secure resources and promote staff and community buy-in • YOU have the ability to convince administrators of the value of SMH

5. Definition of school mental health

6. What does school mental health look like? Systems of Prevention and Promotion All Students (universal) Systems of Early Intervention Students At-Risk (selected) Systems of Treatment Students with Problems (indicated) School, Family, and Community Partnerships From work of Joe Zins

7. Mission of schools and SMH • Consistent with the mission of schools, SMH strives to: • Support high quality academic achievement • Create a safe, caring, and enriching environment • Encourage family driven policies and practices • Serve culturally diverse populations • Foster positive and healthy youth development • Coordinate delivery of effective services for youth • Prepare students for lifelong success

8. SMH Graduation/Drop-out Grades Standardized Test Scores Teacher Retention Health & Mental Health Factors Academic Outcomes Physical Health/illness Mental Health Mental Health Problems High-risk Behaviors (e.g. Substance use ) Developmental issues Social Competence/Self- esteem Family Strengths/ Issues Attendance Behavioral Competencies Behavioral Problems Educational Motivation Positive Attitudes Toward Schoolwork School Connectedness Educational Behaviors Mental health and academic outcomes ADAPTED FROM: Geierstanger, S. P., & Amaral, G. (2004). School-Based Health Centers and Academic Performance: What is the Intersection? April 2004 Meeting Proceedings. White Paper. Washington, D.C.: National Assembly on School-Based Health Care.

9. Mental Health and Academic Outcomes • By enhancing factors that increase a student’s ability to succeed in school, AND • By reducing factors that interfere with a student’s ability to succeed in school • SMH strategies have been shown to improve academic outcomes such as: • academic achievement • discipline referrals • graduation rates • attendance • teacher retention • school climate

10. Mental Health and Academic Outcomes

11. School Mental Health and School Environment

12. Questions • What is social marketing? • What social marketing campaigns do you think are effective? Why?

13. Social marketing • A process for influencing human values, attitudes, and behavior on a broad scale by using marketing principles for the purpose of societal benefit rather than commercial profit. (W. Smith, Academy for Educational Development) • Social marketing goes beyond information and awareness-raising by promoting positive social behavior change and action • Such behavior change/action is complex and challenging to promote • Like marketing, social marketing must take into consideration the needs and concerns of audience

14. Social marketing: Children’s mental health • Traditionally social marketing for children’s mental health focused on: • Reducing stigma around mental illness • Fostering recognition that many children have mental health problems. • Encouraging caregivers to seek early, appropriate treatment and services.

15. Mental Health Connection and Community Solutions of Fort Worth, TX kicked off a multi-year anti-stigma communications campaign in May 2005.

16. Social marketing: Mental health • Increasingly social marketing for children’s mental health is used to: • Reach key decision-makers • Increase buy-in for programs and services • Expand partnerships • Increase sustainability • Promote mental health and reduce stigma • Social marketing is a critical program component, written into grants, etc.

17. Cyclical 9-step social marketing process • Define goal • Define intended audience • Define gatekeepers • Develop messages • Test messages • Develop materials with messages • Select strategies for delivering message • Implement strategies • Evaluate and refine strategies

18. Steps 1-3 • Define goal: • Decide what you are trying to accomplish and what actions/behavior change you want • Define intended audience: • Determine who you are trying to reach and what they know about the topic • Define gatekeepers: • Determine who has the most influence with your target audience

19. Steps 4-5 • Develop culturally appropriate messages: • Determine what messages will resonate with intended audience • Determine how you will shape messages to address variability within your audience • Test messages: • “Pilot test” your messages with both your audience and gatekeepers

20. Steps 6-7 • Develop materials with messages: • Explore types of materials you develop to convey/deliver messages • Develop and refine materials that will be used to deliver messages • Finalize materials • Select strategies for delivering message: • Determine methods you will use to distribute your messages and materials

21. Steps 8-9 • Implement strategies: • Develop plan for using “primary influencers” to help you implement your marketing efforts • Develop strategy to ensure your intended audience receives your message • Evaluate and refine strategies: • Gather feedback to evaluate your marketing strategy along the way • Decide how you will measure the short- and long-term success of your marketing effort

22. SOCIAL MARKETING MESSAGES

23. What Are Messages and How Can They Be Used? • Deliver important information about an issue and compel the intended audience to think, feel or act • They can be used as: • Sets of talking points for presentations • Material for newsletters, letters to the editor • Statements for radio and print public service announcements (PSAs), posters • Themes for activities and materials • Material for slogans

25. Developing and tailoring messages • Accurate • Consistent • Clear and simple • Credible -National Cancer Institute’s “Pink Book”

26. Developing and tailoring messages -National Cancer Institute’s “Pink Book” • Be relevant to your audience • Understand needs, commitment, and attitudes (general and specific) • Consider readiness for change • Consider type of appeal (e.g., straight facts, scare, heart, feel good…) -National Cancer Institute’s “Pink Book”

27. -National Cancer Institute’s “Pink Book” Readiness for Change • Stages of readiness include: • Precontemplation • Contemplation • Preparation • Action • Maintenance Prochaska et al’s “Stages of Change”

28. Developing and tailoring messages Be prepared to address opposition to your messages. • Discussion Questions: • What are some examples of opposition you might encounter from a school administrator? • How might you respond to the opposition?

29. What opposition is this message is responding to?

30. Developing and tailoring messages -National Cancer Institute’s “Pink Book” • Include an “Ask” • The “Ask” is the action or behavior you want the administrator to take. • Be explicit. Don’t assume the administrator will figure out what you are asking. • The “Ask” should be consistent with administrator’s readiness to receive and act on the message.

31. Sample message: Safe Schools Healthy Students • Some students face barriers to learning that cannot be overcome by instructional improvements alone. The Safe Schools Healthy Students initiative has the potential to promote academic achievement by: • increasing students’ attention • improving academic performance • saving instructional time currently lost to disruptive behavior -From National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention’s Engaging School Administrators: A Guide for Safe Schools/Healthy students Project Directors

32. Sample message: Nutrition in Schools • Healthy eating contributes to overall healthy growth and development, including healthy bones, skin, and energy levels; and a lowered risk of dental cavities, eating disorders, constipation, malnutrition, and iron deficiency anemia. Research suggests that not having breakfast can affect children's intellectual performance. As a school administrator we would like you to: • Organize a school health or nutrition advisory committee that includes all key groups. • Make sure students have enough time to eat in a safe and comfortable dining area. • Stock vending machines with 100% fruit juice and other healthy snacks; make sure that healthy foods are served at school meetings and events. • CDC’s Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating

33. Examples of Asks(from previous workshops) • Designate staff to obtain current information on the prevalence of mental health problems within local student population • Plan regular series of staff training for all school personnel on strategies for creating safe and supportive classrooms and school environment • Provide training to health educators on how to include mental health topics in comprehensive health education curriculum • Create a planning committee to establish a wellness program for staff • Support staff in planning a health and wellness day that includes information about mental health

34. Examples of Asks(from previous workshops) • Create a district/building level health council to address health and mental health issues in the district/building and invite students, staff, family members, administrators and community members to participate on the council • Designate a district staff member to coordinate health and mental health programs and services for students and staff • Ensure that student support team includes school-based mental health provider as well as school social worker, social counselor, school psychologist and school nurse • Develop a memorandum of understanding with the local community mental health agency to strengthen joint commitment to ensuring a continuum of SMH supports and services

35. Examples of Asks(from previous workshops) • Review local school wellness policy to ensure that mental health needs of students are adequately addressed • Adopt a policy to incorporate response to mental health crises (e.g. suicide, drug use) within the district’s crisis response plan • Review and improve school board policies to ensure that student mental health is properly supported by the school system • Include school mental health strategies in the school improvement and continuous improvement plans • Schedule a presentation to the school board on the connections between positive student mental health and academic outcomes

36. Review • When developing a message… • make sure it is: • accurate • consistent • clear • relevant • credible • address possible opposition • include an “ask”

37. ACTIVITY:Developing and Delivering a Message

38. Delivery strategy(hook, line, sinker) • Introduction (name, title, organization,…) • Hook (purpose of meeting, what you want to talk about, and why the administrator should be interested) • Line (detailed information that bolsters your Ask) • Sinker (the specific Ask)

39. Delivery Reminders for Your Role Play • Be brief • Explain effect on “bottom line” (e.g., funding, attendance, test scores…) • Give a “takeaway” (e.g., pamphlet) • Look for “offers” • Leave the door open • Be prepared to deal with resistance

40. Developing a Social Marketing Plan

41. Components of a Social Marketing Plan • Draft a communications plan that includes: • materials, methods, venues, and activities best suited to reach intended audience • potential partners and develop partnering plans • communication strategies for intended audience • evaluation strategies

42. Social marketing materials • Flyers • Brochures • Fact sheets • Press releases • Websites • Networking sites

43. Social marketing methods • Informal conversations • Meetings • Media • Internet • Presentations/testimonials Discussion question: • What are examples of methods that you have successfully used to reach administrators?

44. National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day 2009 • SAMHSA offers these strategiesfor delivering campaign messages: • Post messages on web sites and social networking pages • Post fliers in places where children, youth, and families—as well as decision makers, program partners, and colleagues—will be exposed to the messages. • Write articles for newsletters and other publications distributed by your organization

45. Social marketing venues • When and where • One-on-one meetings • School board meetings • School leadership team meetings • Advisory council meetings • School administrator conferences Where do school administrators in your state/district “hang out”?

46. Evaluating your marketing plan • Evaluation questions: • Did you reach target audience? • Did strategy have an impact (linked to behavior objectives)? • Did desired outcome occur, why/why not? • Evaluation methods: • focus groups • key informant interviews • surveys • Revise marketing plan as needed

47. School Mental Health and Administrator Responsibility

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