Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt emphasized the critical importance of addressing mental health needs across diverse student populations during a panel discussion at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s Shape of the Region conference on Wednesday, March 26.
“In Alexandria, I have the largest high school in the state of Virginia. It’s almost 5,000 students in four campuses. We are very diverse. One hundred eighteen different countries, 120 plus languages,” Dr. Kay-Wyatt told attendees at the conference focused on creating safe and supportive futures for Northern Virginia’s youth.
The annual event, held at Valo Park Auditorium in McLean, brought together regional leaders to address pressing issues facing young people, including mental health challenges, substance abuse, and safety concerns.
At the event, Dr. Kay-Wyatt participated in a Fireside Chat. She highlighted how Alexandria schools implement social-emotional learning initiatives to provide mental health awareness education to all students and noted the challenges of delivering these programs across multiple languages.
“When we’re trying to make sure we educate everyone on mental health… a few years ago, we started a social-emotional learning initiative. What does that look like? In every school, every day, our students are exposed to lessons that will provide mental health awareness because education is key,” she explained.
The superintendent pointed out that the current political climate has intensified challenges for many families in her district.
“The conversation would look very different if this was before November. Our families are challenged because they are losing their jobs. They’re sending their children to school. Their children are experiencing what families are experiencing,” Dr. Kay-Wyatt said.
She emphasized that supporting student mental health extends beyond traditional counseling to address basic needs like food security and employment assistance for families.
“It’s not just about making sure now that we welcome students into an inclusive, welcoming, warm culture, but we also have to look to the parents and the families and how we can support them so their children are experiencing school the way it should be,” she said.
Alexandria schools have implemented telehealth programs to increase access to mental health services for students whose families face barriers to traditional in-person appointments.
“We have a telehealth program for our students, for families who can’t maybe get to programs during the day or can’t get to appointments because they’re working more than one job. And so we’re offering those telehealth services during the day for our students,” Dr. Kay-Wyatt explained.
The district incorporates these services into student schedules to ensure students don’t miss instruction while receiving needed mental health support. Telehealth services are also available to families.
Dr. Kay-Wyatt also addressed the growing concern about substance abuse among students, noting that school staff have received specialized training to identify warning signs.
“We did some wellness training for our staff to make sure they were aware of what to look for in students during the day,” she said, highlighting the challenge of identifying substances disguised as typical snacks.
“There were snacks being sold that look like your typical bag of Doritos… It was very hard for us in the K-12 world to tell the difference between a traditional bag of chips and a laced bag of chips,” she said.
The conference featured data presented by Dr. Denise Bellows, Senior Director of Insight Region at the Community Foundation, showing concerning trends in youth mental health. Electronic bullying has increased by 30% over the past 10 years, with 20% of middle school students and 10% of high school students reporting being victims.
Additionally, youth overdose deaths have increased 43% in the past two years, with youth representing 15% of opioid deaths in Northern Virginia – more than double the national average of 7%.
Dr. Kay-Wyatt also discussed the district’s cell phone policy, acknowledging it represents a learning curve for students and adults.
“It is a learning curve for students; it’s a learning curve for adults,” she said, noting the safety implications of the policy. “When we talk about the cell phone policy, which is a challenge, I know, but it’s about safety in schools.”
She explains that students being on phones during emergencies could compromise safety protocols and put entire classrooms at risk.
The superintendent emphasized the importance of community partnerships in addressing student mental health needs, including teen wellness centers located within schools and city-supported programs.
“We have teen wellness centers in our schools. They are in the buildings,” she said, adding that advocacy for continued funding of these resources is essential.
Dr. Kay-Wyatt concluded with a call to action for community members to be advocates for youth mental health.
“If you see anything different, whether it’s in your child or another child, I get this question often. I don’t know what to do. If I’ve noticed it in maybe a neighbor’s child, call. Call the school. Let us be the person who makes the connection. It could save a life.”
Watch the Fireside Chat in its entirety below;
