Our planned actions for the 2026-2027 school year represent one part of the 2025-2028 Mental Health and Addictions Strategic Plan.

We strive to support student mental health and well-being through:

  • Environment
    • Students are supported in feeling a sense of belonging and positive mental health when they feel:
      • Welcome
      • Included
      • Affirmed in their identity
      • Understood
      • Supported
      • Connected
    • When staff and students co-create mentally healthy schools and classrooms this supports the well-being of all.
  • Learning
    • Growing our understanding of mental health and well-being helps us:
      • Develop skills for navigating life’s challenges
      • Recognize mental health struggles in ourselves and others
      • Know how and where to access help
  • Support
    • Sometimes students need additional support.
      • When students need support for their mental health, regulated school mental health professionals provide intervention that is:
        • Evidence-informed
        • Identity-affirming
    • They also connect students to additional community support when beneficial or needed.
  • Engagement
    • By partnering with students, families, staff and community we can:
      • Learn and grow together
      • Feel heard and supported
      • Contribute to the well-being of others
    • Better outcomes are achieved through dialogue and co-learning.

Engagement-driven Areas of Focus

The areas of focus for student, staff, and family learning are being guided by the feedback received from these groups during the consultation process for the creation of this plan.

Students

When taken together, the top areas identified for student learning across all audiences (students, parents and caregivers and staff) were:

  • Managing stress and worry
  • Healthy habits to promote mental health and well-being
  • Healthy relationships
  • Social media

Parents

Parents and caregivers identified the following areas as their top areas of interest for their own learning:

  • How to support your child when they are struggling with their mental health and well-being
  • Early clues that your child might be struggling with their mental health and well-being
  • Promoting positive mental health and well-being at home

These were the top three areas for parents and caregivers of students of all ages/grades.

Staff

Student-facing employees were also asked about their learning interests and Professional Development will be planned in a responsive manner, by role, based on their feedback.

The top overall areas of interests, across groups include:

  • Promoting student mental health and well-being in my role
  • Creating mentally healthy schools and classrooms
  • Supportive conversations with students in distress
  • Tools and resources available to help support student mental health and well-being.

These areas of focus, as identified by students, families and staff, can be seen throughout the action and implementation plan.

Priority #1 – Supporting Students

Students, and their unique experiences of positive mental health and well-being, are the central focus in this plan. They are our “why”.

Goal #1 – Student Engagement and Partnership

As the experts on their experiences, we want to engage students in the development and leadership of student wellness activities.

Key Actions for Goal #1

  • Collaborate with students to plan the 2026-2027 Student Wellness Conference for Secondary Students
  • Equip Secondary Student Wellness teams to share wellness information and resources with their peers at their schools.
  • Equip Elementary SCIS/Student Wellness Teams with resources to promote student engagement in the co-creation of a mentally healthy environment at their schools.

Goal #2 – Co-creation of Mentally Healthy Schools and Classrooms

Mentally healthy schools and classrooms are created collaboratively with students and staff. Students play an important role in creating an environment where each student can experience a sense of belonging and positive mental health.

Key Actions for Goal #2

  • Safe and Healthy Schools Teacher Consultant to collaborate with staff and students in the creation of mentally healthy schools and classrooms through in-class sessions.

Goal #3 – Student Learning

At both local and provincial levels students have shared a desire to learn more about mental health and well-being in order to support their own well-being, as well as equip them to support friends when needed.

Key Actions for Goal #3

  • Provide implementation support and monitoring of the updated mental health curriculum for Grades 6, 7, 8, and 10 (Careers)
  • Continue to engage students in learning opportunities about engagement-driven topics like:
    • Managing stress and worry
    • Healthy relationships
    • Social media and balanced digital tech use
    • Healthy Habits to promote positive mental health and well-being
  • Support CYW-led implementation of Balanced Device Use curriculum in select Grade 7/8 schools

Goal #4 – Pathways to Support

When students are in need of support, clear pathways and protocols guide them to identity-affirming supports and services.

Key Actions for Goal #4

  • Help-seeking information will be shared with students through a variety of means (i.e. posters, in Google Classrooms, Student Wellness Coping Cards, relevant curriculum).

Priority #2 – Engaging with Families

While families have long been seen as important partners in supporting student mental health and well-being, we are amplifying this focus for the 2025-2028 plan.

Goal #1 – Family Engagement and Partnership

In this plan we commit to authentic and meaningful engagement with families in order to partner together to support the well-being of students.

Key Actions for Goal #1

  • Through the expansion of the “Let Grow” pilot into Kindergarten classes, parents will be engaged in supporting their children to identify and complete projects that promote independence, self-efficacy, and resilience.

Goal #2 – Family learning

Families have identified a strong interest in learning about mental health and well-being alongside their children. This plan includes ongoing activities to respond to the learning interests of parents and caregivers.

Key Actions for Goal #2

  • Information will be shared with parents, families and caregivers via email, web post and/or social media at least two times in the year about topics identified by parents and caregivers in the strategic planning process.
  • Lunch and learn webinars will continue to occur and remain available on the WRDSB’s YouTube channel.

Priority #3 – Supporting Staff

While our roles and scope of practice varies, we all have a role to play in supporting student mental health and well-being.

Goal #1 – Equipping Educators

Equipping Educators to deliver mental-health and well-being curriculum and learning.

Key Actions – Goal #1

  • Equip educators to deliver updated mental health and well-being curriculum (Grades 6, 7, 8 and 10).
  • Provide Cyber Awareness PD for Grade 1-10 Educators to support the implementation of classroom-ready, grade appropriate resources to help students navigate:
    • Digital risks related to social media and AI
    • Privacy
    • Screen time

Goal #2 – Staff Learning and Engagement

Staff have also shared a strong interest in learning about mental health and well-being in order to notice and respond to the student mental health needs they encounter. This plan includes PD opportunities based on the top learning interests identified by each group of staff surveyed.

Key Actions – Goal #2

  • Deliver role-specific Mental Health Literacy courses to at least two staff groups that reflect the learning interests identified by each group.
  • Provide Suicide First Aid/Life Promotion training to School and System leaders, and SERTS
  • Proceed with the full implementation and monitoring of HEADS-ED in support of measurement-based care.
  • Achieve full implementation of zoom health for students and families requiring virtual services, per PPM 169.

Goal #3 – Co-Creating Mentally Health Schools and Classrooms

Mentally healthy schools and classrooms are created collaboratively with students and staff. Staff have an important role to play in creating structures, processes and environments where students can experience a sense of belonging and positive mental health.

Key Actions – Goal #3

  • Safe and Healthy Schools Teacher Consultant to collaborate with staff and students in the creation of mentally healthy schools and classrooms through in-class sessions.
  • Equip staff that support affinity groups in their schools with differentiated, identity-affirming and culturally responsive resources.

Priority #4 – Collaborating with Community

Students, along with their families and schools, exist within a vibrant and engaged community here in Waterloo Region.

Goal #1 – Working Together to Support Student Mental Health and Well-being

Education has an important role to play in supporting student mental health and well-being but this is not our work alone. We are part of a broader system of care that exists to support students or all identities and across the tiers of support- from prevention to intervention, to intensive treatment.

Key Actions for Goal #1

  • Along with co-terminus boards and Child and Youth Mental Health Lead Agency, we will engage in collaboration and planning related to Right Time Right Care, as we continue to work towards a seamless and coordinated system of care for children, youth and families in Waterloo Region.
  • Continue collaborating with local non-profit and grassroots organizations through MOUs to facilitate the provision of tier 1 and tier 2 mental health (mental health literacy, social emotional learning, targeted prevention) programming in schools.

Goal #2 – Coordinated Responses to Emerging Student Needs

We are fortunate to have a passionate, engaged and collaborative network of grassroots, health care and social service organizations in this region. As needs emerge it is important to work together to respond, leveraging organizational strengths as well as the power of collaboration.

Key Actions for Goal #2

  • Participate in System Transformation Table Action Groups related to
    • Culturally responsive mental health education and navigation
    • Culturally responsive crisis management