Menlo-Atherton High School
PAWS (B-22)
WHAT IS PAWS AND WHAT WILL PAWS OFFER STUDENTS?
PAWS will help expand the safety net for students on campus by offering coordinated mental health, substance mis/use, and overall wellness services and resources to students.
PAWS Wellness Counselors (through Star Vista, Miricenter, and Acknowledge Alliance) will continue to offer check-ins, assessments, 1:1 counseling, and crisis intervention services for students. All students’ services will be coordinated and they will be connected to care on or off campus depending on their circumstances and level of need.
Students can access the PAWS drop-in space during non-class time to self-refer, refer a friend, practice coping and self-care strategies, grab a cup of tea, get health and wellness information, and connect to services and resources.
We hope that our PAWS drop-in space will help de-stigmatize mental health and encourage students to self-refer or refer a friend - they can do sohere or by scanning one of the QR codes soon-to-be posted around campus in English and Spanish. The self-referral form is also available in Spanish.
This is phase 1 of developing a Wellness Center so we look forward to continuing to improve and add various services and resources.
PAWS SERVICES DURING CLASS TIME:
We want to make sure that all students accessing PAWS have permission to be here, and are here at appropriate times. Reasons why a student may come to PAWS during class:
- Appointment with a PAWS Wellness Counselor (student should have a pass)
- Students in crisis.
- Students not in crisis to use the space for a “Brain Break”:
Students can be sent with a pass to PAWS to come for a 15-20 minute break to practice self-care or utilize a tool in our Wellness Toolbox in PAWS. We have timers to monitor the time a student spends in PAWS and, with our new check-in system.
You are welcome to call our bilingual PAWS Office Assistant, Joanna Sanchez Contreras for questions and more info.