All PSS schools now have counselors; achieve ASCA student-counselor ratio

For reportedly the first time in CNMI Public School System history, all CNMI public schools have student counselors in every school and satisfy the American School Counselor Association’s nationwide standard of maintaining a student-to-counselor ratio of 250:1.

The ASCA is a nationwide collective that supports school counselors’ efforts to enrich students’ lives academically, socially, mentally, and emotionally to prepare them to lead meaningful lives as responsible members of society. It recommends that schools maintain a student-to-counselor ratio of 250 students to one counselor and that counselors spend 80% of their time directly working with or indirectly working for students.

Dr. Yvonne Pangelinan, senior director of Student and Support Services and director of the PSS Mental Health Team, cited this achievement last Saturday, where she also talked about the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the mental wellness of students and the importance of giving the CNMI’s youth opportunities to talk about their mental health.

Pangelinan said she and the Mental Health Team have seen a rise in anxiety and depression in the CNMI’s youth as a result of the almost two years in isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pangelinan said that anxiety and depression are natural human responses to these mentally taxing times, and that it is important now more than ever that students prioritize their mental health.

“[Feelings of anxiety and depression are] natural because we are social beings. Understanding what helps us sustain mental wellness is really important, during this time in particular, because we cannot socialize and we cannot interact with one another the way that we’ve always done. There are new norms of behaving, new norms of getting together,” she said.

Pangelinan said it is important that students are given the opportunity to talk about their mental health. She also made clear that mental wellness is not just about always being stable and happy, but is actually about “understanding those ups and downs” and knowing when and how to reach out for help when needed.

“We, the Mental Health Team, feel that having an opportunity to sit with kids and talk about the issues that are most important to them, during this time especially. …It’s important we share with them tips that they can use to stay mentally well, reach out and to talk about their problems, and send the message that you don’t always have to be okay,” said Pangelinan.

“Mental wellness doesn’t mean that you’re always stable. …Mental wellness is understanding those ups and downs, and learning to [ask yourself] when you’re down, ‘What are the things that I can do to assist myself?” and ‘Who are the people that I can reach out to?’” she added.