Crisis Management: Addressing the Impact of Insufficient Resources and Supports on Middle School Students' Mental Health

This Dissertation-in-Practice (DiP) addresses a problem of practice which is an urgent need for enhanced mental health supports at Alpine Prairie Middle School (APMS) within the Western Canadian School District (WCSD). Amidst resource and budgetary constraints, this study explores holistically informed strategies grounded in the principal's positionality and grounded by critical theory. This DiP focusses on transformative and distributed leadership approaches, considering the school as a complex adaptive system. A leadership framework integrates critical theory, transformative leadership, distributed leadership, and pragmatism to effectively lead the change process. The implementation plan includes a four-step change model: awakening, mobilization, acceleration, and institutionalization, tailored for APMS. This model aligns the organization with changes involving mental health literacy (MHL) and transformative social emotional learning (tSEL), managing the transition smoothly. Comprehensive communication and evaluation plans ensure successful integration of change strategies into the school's operations, supporting and improving students' mental health. Adopting a holistic approach, emphasizing equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID), this DiP describes a supportive and resilient environment where every student can thrive. This DiP also emphasizes the importance of a proactive stance on student mental health, the need for ongoing professional development for educators, and the value of involving the entire school community in mental health initiatives. By addressing these critical areas, the DiP seeks to create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment for all students at APMS. The findings may also inform future initiatives to improve mental health supports in middle schools.