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Equity of Access
Message from Board President Patsy Mendoza - March 3
Posted on 03/03/2023
This is the image for the news article titled Message from Board President Patsy Mendoza - March 3Dear Canutillo Familia,

The Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a resolution affirming our commitment to continue working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in El Paso to provide mental health services and information to our students, employees and their families. The resolution, titled “End the Silence,” was the brainchild of Trustee Blanca Trout, a fierce advocate for mental health issues in our community and a certified mental health facilitator herself. Thanks to her leadership, we are able to enjoy a great working relationship with NAMI.

In fact, the Executive Director of NAMI in El Paso, Mr. Isidro Torres, was at our school board meeting on Tuesday to accept the proclamation and to share with us some important facts and figures.

Did you know that one in five children ages 13 to 18 have or will have a serious mental health illness? Or that 10 percent of youth have a behavior or conduct disorder? Did you know that 37 percent of students ages 14 and older with mental health conditions drop out of school?

We must as a District ensure equity of access to and delivery of services to our community. Moreover, we must do so in a way that is linguistically and culturally appropriate for the people of Canutillo. The Board of Trustees on Tuesday reinforced its commitment to support any effort to bring mental health advocacy to our community, and I am proud to work alongside an administration that is cognizant of this effort.

A focus on mental health means our students and their families will be healthy and ready to take on the academic challenges of the school year. It also means that there will be fewer instances of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health issues or suicide thoughts, please reach out for help. NAMI El Paso offers great resources and hotlines. You can access them using this link: https://www.namiep.org/resources.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees I want to wish our students and staff a restful and happy intersession and spring break. You deserve this break and we can’t wait to see you back in order to finish off the year strong.

¡Un abrazo fuerte!

Patsy Mendoza
President
Canutillo ISD
Board of Trustees