Inside Hortonville Middle School, they're sharing positive messages.
"We wanted to break down the stigma with what mental illness is," said District Administrator Dr. Heidi Schmidt.
Those positive messages are part of the new district-wide program started this year called E3, which stands for Engage, Educate and Empower: Building Healthy Minds.
The goal is to educate students and families about mental health, screen students who might be struggling, and help students get treatment in school.
School administrators said they're hoping this program will make mental health screenings more normal for students.
"We want it to become just like we do vision and hearing," said Schmidt.
The district works with four partners. One of those is NAMI Fox Valley, which mainly handles the education aspect of the program.
"We really are helping to break down stigma and to create a true culture of mental health in the district," said Maren Peterson, Executive Director of NAMI Fox Valley.
The Samaritan Counseling Center, Catalpa Health, and Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin also play important roles in the program, including doing the mental health screenings.
"The screener takes a look at anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and drug and alcohol concerns," said Schmidt.
With the program just starting this year, the district was only able to screen grades 8-12. Starting next year and moving forward, they're planning to screen the rest of the middle school students as well.
If the screenings find that a student needs help, professional counseling is then available at school. Administrators said providing treatment for students in school works for both the student and parents.
"Parents don't have to take off work or miss time to come get their child," said Schmidt. "The child doesn't have to leave instructional time in order to see their therapist."
So far more than 150 students have received services in school, which the district said shows the program's early success.
The Hortonville Area School District is now one of the few districts in the state that is designated as a mental health clinic.
