School Mental Health Ontario recently released a new MH LIT – Mental Health in Action literacy course. This course provides elementary educators with basic knowledge and information related to mental health, social-emotional learning, strategies to enhance student mental health, and everyday practices for use in the classroom. The free course will help you to:

• deepen your understanding of student mental health;
• learn practical strategies;
• enhance classroom culture;
• have access to and find additional helpful resources;
• align your work with the Ontario College of Teachers’ advisory related to student mental health; and
• align your work with the updated Health and Physical Education curriculum, including the development of social-emotional learning skills.

The course is self-paced and takes about six (6) hours to complete. You’ll receive a certificate of completion at the end. The courses have been developed by School Mental Health Ontario, in collaboration with practicing educators and school mental health professionals.

Visit https://smho-smso.ca/educators/learn-more/mh-lit-online-course/ to access the course.

If you experience any difficulty signing up for the course, reach out to your board's Technology enabled Learning and Teaching (TELT) contact, which can be found at this website: https://www.d2l.com/k-12/ontario/

School Mental Health Ontario is working on a version of the course for secondary school educators as well as an extension to the course for school guidance teachers. Stay connected to the SMHO website for upcoming releases.