The Roaring Fork Schools know that mental health is every bit as important as physical health is for student success in school and in life. That’s why we have mental health professionals in our schools and available through partnerships to support our students. 

Thanks to grant funding, we have a prevention specialist in each community to support student success by addressing risk factors and working within schools to promote healthy and safe behaviors while preventing substance abuse and violence. In addition to working directly with students, prevention specialists provide education and resources to parents.

Additionally, we regularly administer the Colorado Healthy Kids Survey to identify early warning signs of risky and health-threatening adolescent behaviors so that we can intervene with early education and prevention. We have worked with community agencies to provide increased access to mental health services and to combat substance use and addiction. We train all of our teachers in identifying signs of suicidality. We have school based health centers in Basalt and Carbondale providing on-site mental health access for students. And family liaisons help all families remove barriers to, and gain access to, healthcare and other vital services.