OPI to Offer New Online Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Resources for Teachers

HELENA—The Office of Public Instruction’s Teacher Learning Hub will now offer Montana teachers a program called “At-Risk: Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Role-Play Simulations”. This is being provided to the Learning Hub through the Project AWARE-MT SOARS grant funding. The project is a 12-month unlimited license contract with Kognito Interactive Programs. These courses will be available to all Montana educators, school staff, and OPI partners through the Learning Hub.

HB 381, passed by the 2017 Legislature, tasks the OPI with providing training and technical assistance resources on suicide prevention and response for schools. This online course is one way that the OPI can make best practice training available to all educators across Montana, regardless of their location and proximity to suicide prevention and intervention specialists.

Suicide prevention, mental health awareness, and e-learning are also very important initiatives of Superintendent Arntzen’s administration.

“Montana is a large, rural state with some of the highest youth suicide rates in the country. It is critical that educators not only have resources to promote mental health for our students, but that they have access to these resources regardless of where they are in our state. This is an additional tool that we can use to provide Montana hope,” Arntzen said Thursday.