Get to Know the First-Ever Student Health and Wellness Youth Advisory Council

Throughout the summer, 14 high school students from across the District have been hard at work on projects to help CPS better meet its students’ needs. They make up the Office of Student Health and Wellness’ first-ever Youth Advisory Council. Students were split into four groups, each tasked with developing a campaign to improve a specific facet of student well-being: mental health, sexual health education, school gardens, and LGBTQ+ support. 

From stickers to videos to posters, the students let their creativity shine as they collaborated on outreach materials to educate school communities on the importance of creating welcoming school environments for all students. Learn more about each group’s work below.

School Gardens: Braylen, Cianna, and Miciah

This group created a presentation and an informative video to highlight the benefits of maintaining a school garden, as well as best practices for helping a garden thrive. Students took advantage of the school garden at Smyth Elementary School as the setting for their video, providing tips and tricks while being surrounded by lush greenery in every direction. 

For example, the students outlined how trellises are an important part of a school garden by maximizing sunlight exposure and supporting plant growth. They also shared recommendations for many different plants, such as giving tomato plants at least one inch of water per week, routinely clipping the outer leaves of collard greens as they grow, and waiting for the petals to dry out before harvesting sunflower seeds.

Not only did Braylen, Cianna, and Miciah display their newfound knowledge of gardening, they formed connections between school gardens and mental health, noting how a garden can provide students with a safe space to relax and provide schools and communities with fresh produce. 

After presenting their video, the students were asked about advice they would give to another student who wants to start a school garden at their school. They explained that bringing the idea to the Local School Council is a good place to start.

Mental Health: Elisha, Erica, Ilyasah, and Mayvin

The mental health group started their presentation with a question: How effectively do you take care of your mental health? This question prompted many different responses, emphasizing that your mental health is connected to numerous aspects of your life, from how much sleep you get to your relationship with social media. 

Looking specifically at the relationship between mental health and schools, the group started by analyzing data that revealed that mental health challenges disproportionately impact students of color and students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. They also shared their personal experiences of academic stress impacting their mental health. 

So, they worked together to develop a set of strategies to create more supportive school environments, separating them into two categories: projects and proposals. Projects are more immediate solutions, such as creating a newsletter to spread awareness about mental health; designing posters and stickers to be displayed in schools; and reminding school administrators about the District’s new Comprehensive Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Policy. 

Proposals, on the other hand, require more planning. Based on their research, the group believes there should be a therapist within every school and designated mental health spaces for students to take a break from their academics.

Sexual Health: Giselle, Jade, Nicolle, and Sheyenne 

This group defined their main goal as normalizing sexual health topics so that students can remember the resources that are available to them. Their approach was to create a series of posters that outline how schools should be supporting the sexual health of their students. 

One of the posters they designed listed the sexual health rights that all students ages 12 and older have. At the same time, they shared that some of these resources, such as menstrual projects or condoms, should be accessible to students in theory but aren’t always made a priority. Additionally, they explained that students often feel ashamed to ask for them. Their solution was to transform an empty locker into a space where students can discretely take advantage of sexual health resources such as condoms. 

Another poster provided detailed information about different types of birth control. The students explained that the importance of this poster connected back to gaps that they experienced in their sexual health education. When asked about how the District could make improvements, they shared that they believed that students should be given more power in decision-making processes, instead of always having to rely on adults to make improvements on their behalf. 

They also shared an idea for a ranking system that would display how effectively each school provides sexual health support. They believed that this would incentivize schools to take student sexual health more seriously.

LGBTQ+ Support: Cody, Destiny P., and Destiny V. 

These three students collaborated on several posters to help schools become more inclusive for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Group members started by framing their presentation with their own experiences, highlighting how schools can create more welcoming learning environments by supporting their students’ gender identities. 

Their posters built on each other. The first outlined key definitions of common gender identities, as well as explained how transitioning toward the gender that one identifies as can help one live more comfortably. This poster also included a QR code linked to the District’s report on LGBTQ+ health within CPS schools. 

The foundational information provided by the first poster directly connected to three other posters with more specific topics. One highlighted the importance of respecting the privacy of transgender students who want their gender identity to remain confidential, as well as resources for these students if they need support. Another outlined the benefits of gender-neutral facilities. And the final poster provided tips to support the sexual health of LGBTQ+ students.

The group directly connected these priority areas with issues they had faced at school, such as not knowing the location of a gender-neutral bathroom within their school. By creating these posters, they hope to distribute them directly to schools to ensure that every school is a welcoming space for all students. 

For more information on the District’s work on supporting the health of its students, please visit the CPS website.