At Tallassee City Schools, educating children successfully means caring for the whole child. Mental and emotional wellness affects how students learn, build relationships, handle challenges, and grow. That makes mental health a shared responsibility—one that includes students, families, educators, and our entire community.
Mental health can sometimes be difficult to talk about. Old stereotypes, stigma, or the idea that we should simply “tough it out” can keep important conversations from happening. Our children need us to move beyond those barriers. They need adults who are comfortable talking about everyday struggles, emotions, relationships, stress, and healthy ways to cope.
Our youth are often thirsty for conversation—they just don’t always know where to start. We can help start it.
Each month, The Tiger’s Mind will bring you useful, easy-to-read information, including interesting articles • practical resources • district-wide events • mental health and wellness campaigns • conversation starters • and strategies you can actually use.
Our goal is simple: Empower adults to ENGAGE with our youth so we can INSPIRE them to take an active role in their overall health and wellness. And sometimes, the best way to help our children is to make sure we are taking care of ourselves, too.
Three C’s to help you and your child connect around mental health and wellness, know the key “concrete” supports for family well-being, and encourage your child to share with you about the joys and challenges they are experiencing at this time.
Curiosity opens the conversation. Clarity helps us understand. Compassion keeps the connection.
As parents and educators, we all want our children to feel safe and supported. In Alabama, student-on-student bullying is legally defined under the Jamari Terrell Williams Act. However, as children learn to navigate friendships, they can sometimes say or do things that are genuinely hurtful, but that doesn't always mean it fits the legal definition of bullying.
Understanding this distinction helps us address problems with the right tools:
What Bullying IS: A continuous, repetitive pattern of behavior where there is an imbalance of power (such as using physical size, popularity, or intimidation to control or harm another student). It includes severe harassment, continuous social exclusion, and cyberbullying that disrupts the school day.
What Bullying IS NOT:Peer conflict or isolated meanness. Kids can be hurtful, rude, or thoughtless. A single argument between friends, a one-time mean comment, or a mutual disagreement is a normal—albeit painful—growing pain. While these actions are still subject to school discipline, they are treated as conflicts rather than bullying.
How You Can Partner With TCS:
If your child is experiencing a pattern of targeted harassment, please complete an official, written bullying complaint form. (Paper copies can be obtained at your school's front office.) Under Alabama law, a written form is required to initiate a formal investigation. If it is an isolated conflict, our counselors and teachers are always here to help students mediate, learn from their mistakes, and repair relationships.
The Power of "Let Them"
As parents, it is completely natural to want to fix every problem, manage every friend drama, and shield our kids from disappointment. But trying to control everything often leaves both us and our children feeling anxious and overwhelmed.
In her bestselling book, "The Let Them Theory," author Mel Robbins shares a life-changing approach to letting go of what we can't control. When we step back and adopt a "Let Them" mindset, we stop micromanaging our children's experiences. Instead, we give them the room they need to solve problems, build emotional resilience, and discover who they truly are.
The Takeaway: The next time you feel the urge to over-manage a minor situation or stress over another person's opinions, take a breath and tell yourself, "Let them." Then, focus your energy on what you can control: your own reaction.
*CLICK the picture of the book for a link to find it.
Talking about suicide can feel difficult—especially when we are talking about children. But protecting the mental health of our students means being willing to have safe, age-appropriate conversations from kindergarten through 12th grade. Suicide remains a leading cause of death among young people in the United States, making prevention and early intervention something we simply cannot ignore.
What Should I Do?
Take warning signs seriously. You do not have to determine on your own how serious the situation is.
Immediate danger: Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Need help deciding what to do? Call or text 988to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and speak with a trained crisis counselor.
24-hour behavioral health crisis care: Carastar Health Crisis Center, 5915 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL.
Stay with the young person when there is an immediate safety concern and involve a responsible adult and professional support.
For TCS students: After an urgent situation has been addressed, please follow up the next school day with Mrs. Bafford, Mental Health Services Coordinator, and/or your child's school counselor. This allows the school to provide appropriate support when the student returns.
When in doubt, reach out. Asking for help is always appropriate when you are concerned about a young person's safety.
Suicide Education at TCS
Tallassee City Schools uses lessons from ThriveWay’s P.A.T.H. (Prevention & Awareness for Total Health) curriculum to meet Alabama’s requirements for suicide prevention education. Lessons are designed specifically for students’ developmental levels. For younger children, the focus is on recognizing feelings, identifying trusted adults, asking for help, and understanding that difficult feelings can be talked about. As students get older, lessons gradually address mental health, warning signs, healthy coping skills, help-seeking, and how to respond when they are concerned about themselves or a friend.
Parents and guardians will receive notice before the brief classroom lessons begin. Our purpose is not to frighten students or introduce concepts beyond their developmental level. It is to give them appropriate language, trusted connections, and the confidence to seek help when they or someone they know is struggling.
Our children need adults who are willing to listen and talk about mental health. Silence does not protect our young people—education, connection, and early help can. When schools and families work together, we help students understand one of the most important messages we can give them: when life feels overwhelming, they do not have to face it alone.
*WATCH the video below for more information about P.A.T.H.
Connect Alabama App
Connect Alabama, a behavioral health services and treatment finder application, provides individuals with instant access to education, information, and services related to substance use, mental health, and prevention. The app is funded through a partnership of the Alabama Department of Public Health, Alabama Department of Mental Health, and is created and managed by VitAL of The University of Alabama.
“Connect Alabama is an important tool, offering fast and reliable service to someone looking for help. It may take an individual many years to simply reach out for help with mental health issues or a substance use disorder. We need as many avenues as possible for an individual to seek treatment and information when they are ready to take the next step toward recovery,” said ADMH Commissioner Kimberly Boswell.
A special feature of the app is functionality even if the internet or data is not available. The application has built-in static information that is accessible anytime, without access to data or the internet, and will update as service and data become available for the user.
Features of the app include:
The home page of the application showcases a Hot Topic Banner, navigable sections of help, and filters to specify needs and locations.
The Helpline page displays click-to-call phone numbers. Each helpline has direct dial functionality and direct SMS to text the helpline, when applicable.
The services locator access page provides a directory for substance use, prevention, mental health, or medication drop off locations and includes services offered (outpatient, residential etc.), demographics and location of services.
Additional resources, education, and information including direct access to free Naloxone kits provided by Jefferson County Department of Health are available on the app. After watching a short video, a person can have the life-saving drug sent to the home and have on hand in case of an overdose.
Easy access all of the time to anything mental health & wellness.
This TCS page is designed to access information about mental health topics, receive tools you can use, provides you with resources for all kinds of needs, and where you can access past issues of the Tiger's Mind. Suggestions are always welcome!
