‘Spill the Tea’ is a mental health program that was created through the Student Advisory Council. With student mental health levels lower than they have ever been and anxieties about the school year, some Eagles have come up with a program to improve conditions around Arlington High School.
‘Spill the Tea’ aims to provide students with support in both academic problems as well as those outside school. The system allows students to drop business cards with their student ID into the boxes of teachers they wish to speak with. The boxes are located in every class, usually near the teacher’s desk. The student can later be discreetly called on to discuss the issue further.
Statistically, student mental health is currently at a low. Greg Hurst, English 11 and AP Lang teacher, said, “Student mental health is especially important right now because there are so many things in our modern society that can plague students.” It is something all students ultimately struggle with at different points of their academic and personal lives.
Organizers of ‘Spill the Tea’, claimed they wanted to come up with a “way that made it so that they [students] could discreetly reach out for help.” Elena Twitchell (‘27), fellow organizer, said, “We found that a common problem on why students don’t go to teachers when they’re struggling is because they don’t want to be embarrassed.” They hope that the program they devised would reduce the hesitation significantly.
Yet with initial apprehension and lack of enough information, participation has been low. Still, the students who are well aware of the program take keenly to it. A new student, Lilibeth Russ (‘28) said, “I feel like it’s a really good way for students to keep in contact with their teachers and how it’s not solely isolated for mental health, but it’s also for school-related stuff.”
Without proper initiative from students and teachers, however, the program will not be able to reach its full potential. Teachers will only be able to provide help when it is directly asked for by the students. “I feel like the more strategies that the program uses to make it known… It’s going to be a really big thing and kids will use it more often than right now,” said Russ.
Twitchell also stated “It’s a way for both students and teachers to bridge connections, but it won’t work unless both of them do it together.” For more engagement, the organizers “have extra business cards and thousands of them.” These are for students to take and make use of anytime. They are also working on having some put up in the counseling office.
Teachers are ready to tackle various problems with their students. They hope they will be approached by those who need help. “There should be no stigma attached to someone seeking to find some mental help. We all need it,” said Hurst.
All in all, everyone, including the teachers and organizers, is looking forward to having students feel comfortable and come up to them. They feel equipped to help students out with whatever concerns they might have, whether academic or personal. Asking for help is never “embarrassing”. It only makes the journey easier.
