As the end of the school year approaches, Dulaney students are finding it harder to get through their classes. With finals and AP exams being in-person for the first time in two years, the mental health of many students is on a decline. This occurrence inspired Dulaney’s Advanced Business Management (period 2A) to mitigate this issue–at least temporarily. 

“Hosting a mental health day came about as a spur of the moment thought when our class was collectively feeling drained from school. Our business class thought it would be a great idea to plan this event so we could learn more about managing events, while also promoting social good for our school,” said Kat Forakis, the marketing director for the project. 

Forakis has worked with her management class over the course of a few weeks to plan this event, which was almost completely student-led. 

“Currently we’re learning about planning in class, so we had to come up with a mission vision and value statements for this project. After the event, we’re going to have a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (S.W.O.T.) analysis to identify how to improve our event,” said Liam Driscoll, a student in the class. 

In addition to its strong educational backing, the students in this class have also ensured that the mental health day provides adequate mental health education and resources for those attending. The event was hosted on March 5 in the Satellite Cafeteria for the period 2A Advanced Business Management and period 2A Marketing classes. It featured multiple de-stressors including a snack table, music and games. School Guidance Counselor Katie Owens was also invited to openly speak with students about mental health. 

“I love that mental health is something that is being explored by students. I really wanted to be a part of the conversation about what it means for self care…and what a mental health day is, or could be,” said Owens. 

Owens’ sentiment was shared by students and teachers alike. 

“More than anything else, I love that this project addresses the issues of mental health. We aren’t just talking about it or sharing resources, but we’re actively doing something,” said Advanced Business Management teacher Damon George. 

The event turned out to be extremely successful. Not only were students able to have a constructive conversation with Owens, but they were able to truly let go of their stress for one period. To ensure that mental health days can be accessible for everyone, George has also encouraged his students to view this project as building a “product” for the school. 

“We want to turn this into a product that we can share with other students, so when they ask a teacher for a mental health day, they have some structure/substance to convince those teachers that may be reluctant to agree,” said George. 

Mental health days should be available to all. It is the hope of Advanced Business Management and George that this experience can be shared by all Dulaney students for years to come. 

Prioritizing your mental health is extremely important. If you find yourself struggling to do so, please reach out to a guidance counselor/teacher to find more resources. If you are interested in learning more about Advanced Business Management’s mental health day, follow their instagram @2a_mentalhealthday for more information. 

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