ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 13, 2020 — National PTA is pleased to announce it has teamed up with GoGuardian to engage children and families together in mental health education. Through the effort, National PTA and GoGuardian will develop and deploy resources to PTAs across the country to host mental health awareness events for families at their schools. The announcement was made during the association’s 2020 Legislative Conference in the nation’s capital.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to grow into a happy and healthy adult, which includes mental and emotional well-being,” said Leslie Boggs, president of National PTA. “National PTA is pleased to join forces with GoGuardian to engage families in mental health education to help make a difference for the overall health and well-being of children and help them reach their fullest potential.”
As part of the effort, National PTA and GoGuardian will convene thought leaders to assess the current landscape of mental health resources. National PTA and GoGuardian will also conduct focus groups to get perspectives on parent, school and community responsibilities and preferences for mental health education. Further, National PTA and GoGuardian will survey parents and families to collect insights on the tools and communications they would like to see provided in schools on mental health.
“We’ve learned it takes a concerted cross-disciplinary effort from a host of caring, innovative stakeholders to improve a child’s mental wellbeing, and we want to be a part of that community,” said Advait Shinde, co-founder and CEO of GoGuardian. “By engaging PTA in partnership to support mental health awareness amongst parents, a school community’s most vital stakeholder group, we are confident we can help move the needle to increase a school’s capacity to handle rising mental health concerns while reducing stigma.”
National PTA’s collaboration with GoGuardian builds on the association’s longstanding commitment to providing improved mental health programs and services to children and families. National PTA and PTAs nationwide have a strong history of advocating for the prioritization of mental health education, early intervention, prevention and access to school and community-based mental health personnel and services so that all children can reach their fullest potential.
“Ensuring all children have access to mental health services and meeting the needs of the whole child are essential for children’s success,” added Nathan R. Monell, CAE, National PTA executive director. “PTAs play a critical role in bringing communities together and linking families with resources.”