Alyssah Yater was a straight-A student until the symptoms of depression set in and suddenly, in her junior year, she was at risk of failing some of her classes.
Yater鈥檚 therapist was almost an hour away, which meant she had to leave class early for her appointments. And she wasn鈥檛 the only one struggling. She remembers fellow classmates fighting and spending mornings texting friends to make sure they came to class.
鈥淎t our high school, if you meet someone who鈥檚 like, 鈥榊eah, I鈥檓 perfectly happy with my life,鈥� you鈥檙e just like, 鈥極h that鈥檚 weird.鈥� It seems uncommon,鈥� said Yater, now a senior.
She felt awkward emailing teachers to let them know why she鈥檇 been out of class so often and said having an on-campus clinic would have cut down on missed class time.
In March, the Killingly Board of Education voted 6-3 to reject a proposal that would have provided just that 鈥� a grant-funded, school-based mental health center at the high school.
The vote led to a against the board. The board chair resigned, and the state Department of Education launched an investigation.
The controversial decision has been mired in politics. Those opposed to the mental health center have raised complaints and references more commonly heard from the political right: cancel culture, Hillary Clinton, abortion, gender identity. Some wonder if schools are the best place for mental health care.
Norm Ferron, who was elected the new chairman during the board鈥檚 April 13 meeting, said he voted against the school mental health center because he was concerned that kids might get counseling about 鈥渃ontroversial topics.鈥�
鈥淏asically, what is a stranger to the parents can be advising their child on any issue,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey might be giving them counseling directly opposed to the views of the parents.鈥�
The Killingly Board of Education is used to controversy. In recent months, it voted down a proposal to host a at the school and with language that makes it harder to bring back. Many members ran on the promise that they would reinstate the school鈥檚 , the Redmen, which they did in 2020.
The quiet corner, but not unique
A former mill town located on the border of Rhode Island, Killingly sits in 海角换妻鈥檚 鈥淨uiet Corner鈥� and has a population of just over 17,700. Its 50 square miles are transected by rivers that used to power the cotton mills in the town鈥檚 heyday. Since the mills shuttered, the Frito-Lay manufacturing site is among the largest employers.
Although the state as a whole trends blue in national elections, Killingly went for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020, when the former president got 56.6% of the vote. The town council is overwhelmingly Republican 鈥� only one of its nine elected members is a Democrat 鈥� and the population of the town is overwhelmingly white. Its poverty rate is nearly 5 percentage points higher than the state鈥檚 rate. The median household annual income is just above $66,000, well below the state median of nearly $80,000.
Main Street is lined with government buildings and businesses 鈥� a couple of pizza restaurants, town hall, a church, the adult probation office 鈥� and where the downtown fades, the streets shoot off into residential areas with many single-family homes.
What is happening in Killingly is not unique. In communities across the country, conservative parents and board of education members have pushed back against school-based mental health supports such as social-emotional learning, saying they are a subversive way to sneak teachings on critical race theory and gender identity into public schools.
In 海角换妻, these topics are sure to be at play in the upcoming gubernatorial election. A new independent-expenditures group, the super PAC , has pledged to spend more than $1 million arguing that Gov. Ned Lamont, a first-term Democrat, is at odds with parents over critical race theory, sexually explicit curricula in public schools and the participation of transgender athletes in girls鈥� sports.
The pushback from some conservatives on those issues comes at the worst possible time for those who are trying to fight a youth mental health crisis in America.
State lawmakers have shown a renewed focus on mental health care this legislative session and introduced that aim to address mental health in schools and early childhood as well as fund mental health services in medical centers, educational facilities and the community. In December, the U.S. surgeon general issued on a national youth mental health crisis exacerbated by the pandemic.
鈥楶utting politics over students鈥�
This is what happened in Killingly.
On one hand, educators and students were clamoring for help to address what they say is a burgeoning mental health crisis.
In a mental health nonprofit鈥檚 late last year of Killingly students from 7th to 12th grades, nearly 30% of the respondents reported that they鈥檝e had thoughts about hurting themselves. And 14.7% have made suicide plans.
Wait lists for mental health care are long, and for those who can access it, they鈥檙e often pulled out of class and fall behind. The school has had an open position for a staff psychologist for more than a year.
When the board denied the request for a school-based mental health center, parents filed a formal saying the board wasn鈥檛 providing 鈥渢he minimum services and supports necessary to deal with the social, emotional and mental health needs of the students of Killingly High School.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e putting politics over students,鈥� said Seth Varin, another senior at Killingly. He鈥檚 struggled with depression and anxiety, particularly during the isolation of the pandemic. He will graduate soon and plans to attend Norwich University in Vermont to study physical education 鈥� with the goal of coming back home to teach at Killingly one day.
鈥淚 want this for the future grades,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven if it saves one person, I feel like it would be beneficial.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e worrying about yourself, and you鈥檙e worrying about everyone else who鈥檚 also struggling and trying to get them to come to school and graduate and just get through the year,鈥� Yater said.
Yater and Varin were among several students who have stood up, gripped the edges of the lectern and told the local board that they need mental health care in meetings spanning March and April. The students said they suffered trauma after trauma before the pandemic and spent the last two years isolated from their friends and living through a global pandemic.
In interviews with the CT Mirror, school staff told stories about students having anxiety attacks and needing to call 211 for mental health services for children as young as 8. Parents talked about their kids鈥� needs for therapy, mental illnesses and suicide attempts. Students said they are hurting and don鈥檛 feel heard.
The interviews with dozens of people involved in the school district show a pattern: The kids are shouting for help, and they say the adults in charge haven鈥檛 given it to them.
鈥楶arental rights鈥�
At an informational session for the clinic and on social media after, students and parents said, community members brought up concerns that students would be counseled on issues such as abortion, gender and birth control.
A circulated by state Rep. Anne Dauphinais, R-Killingly, titled 鈥淧ublic school services for minors without parental consent,鈥� asked questions about whether parents would agree with their kids receiving counseling on contraceptives, premarital sex, abortion, gender identity or religion without consent.
The survey also asked if parents supported schools 鈥渙ffering or administering鈥� medications or vaccinations to minors 鈥渨ithout parental knowledge or consent.鈥�
Generations Family Health Center, a nonprofit based in Willimantic that would have provided therapy at the school, has said it won鈥檛 offer medications or vaccinations to minors at the clinic.
The survey also questioned whether parents would approve of their children receiving mental health services without parental consent.
The survey results have been cited repeatedly to push back against the health center. Dauphinais鈥� husband, Dale Dauphinais, referenced them in public comment at a March 9 school board meeting. Dale Dauphinais is the chair of the Quiet Corner Tea Party Patriots.
鈥淚 believe this is an unwarranted government intervention,鈥� Dale Dauphinais said. 鈥淭his is where they divide the parents and the students.鈥�
Dale Dauphinais declined to be interviewed about the health center and instead offered comments about the CT Mirror reporter who contacted him.
鈥淵ou are not a reporter, you are a biased, dishonest propaganda machine,鈥� Dale Dauphinais wrote in his emailed comment. 鈥淵ou have a better chance of interviewing God because of your dishonesty. Use that as my quote. I bet you won鈥檛, and it will prove my point.鈥�
Anne Dauphinias didn鈥檛 respond to requests for an interview about why she included certain questions on the survey or her thoughts on the center. In a written statement, she said she supported parental rights.
鈥淚 have always stood for and believed in parental rights,鈥� the statement read. 鈥渓 sent this particular survey out to get the pulse of where those who participated in the survey stood. This survey was conducted to explore the thoughts and beliefs of all who chose to complete it.鈥�
Ferron, the board chair, said while he wasn鈥檛 aware of the specifics of the questions, he thought the results refuted 鈥渟ome of the other surveys that were done.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure exactly specifically what that was, but I know it contradicted some of the other surveys that were done,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was more inclusive of more parents.鈥�
The to the state says he and former chair Janice Joly pushed against the mental health survey results. Joly questioned whether the kids were telling the truth in the survey, while Ferron thought 14.7% of respondents having a suicide plan was 鈥渘ot that big鈥� of a number.
鈥淗ow do you know they were honest responses?鈥� Joly said, according to the complaint. 鈥淲e鈥檙e dealing with kids. They could have written anything. That鈥檚 what kids do.鈥�
That comment, at the March 16 meeting, was met with audible gasps. One student, who had just told the board that he was a part of the 14.7% who had a suicide plan, began to cry, according to the complaint.
Culture wars and the 鈥楻edmen鈥�
The rhetoric surrounding the health center at Killingly is evocative of past 鈥渃ulture wars鈥� that have been used by politicians to stir up anger, said Chris Haynes, a political science professor at the University of New Haven.
In the past it鈥檚 been issues often related to race, such as critical race theory, that sparked vitriol largely not based in fact. Still, it can be politically advantageous for politicians to advance ideas that evoke strong feelings, Haynes said.
Put simply: People who are angry and afraid tend to vote.
鈥淎 lot of these things kind of erupt in different cities and towns,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ther programs are being tainted politically to other kinds of caustic ideas like critical race theory.鈥�
These political strategies have also caused parents to grow increasingly concerned about what their kids are being taught in school, he said.
鈥淧arents have decided, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to open up the cover of what gets taught in high school education,鈥欌�� Haynes said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a fundamental misunderstanding of what high school education is about and what teachers are doing and what they should be doing.鈥�
This isn鈥檛 the first time school board members have brought up culture wars. Some of the Republican members ran on promises that they would : the Redmen.
The last board voted to change the mascot, citing the word鈥檚 racist roots. Students voted on their favorite mascot, and the 鈥淩edhawks鈥� won the referendum.
But when the new board came into power, it brought back the Redmen. Under a 2021 law, if the mascot isn鈥檛 changed by 2023, the town will forfeit close to $100,000 annually in grant money from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund.
The schools haven鈥檛 used the mascot since, opting instead to use no mascot at all.
It wasn鈥檛 always like this in Killingly, two former board members said.
Richard Murray, who served on the board from 2003 to 2017, said controversy used to be over issues such as the budget, and the disagreements didn鈥檛 seem so political. He decided not to run for office again because of the increasing focus on politics.
He was board chair when the board decided to approve the mascot change to the Redhawks.
鈥淧eople were elected not because they cared about education or kids or Killingly, for that matter. They got elected because they wanted the mascot changed,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淎nd hence problems arise almost immediately.鈥�
In a letter to the editor published in the Village Newspapers ahead of her resignation, Joly brought up Hillary Clinton and 鈥渁ngry mobs,鈥� a term commonly used by former President Donald Trump.
鈥淵ou all might recall that the majority of people in Killingly voted for the candidates they wanted to represent them back in November, and it wasn鈥檛 the Democrats,鈥� Joly wrote. 鈥淐learly, you are all struggling with that fact, rather like Hillary Clinton did when she lost the election.鈥�
Joly, who voted against the health center, also wrote about bullying and harassment she鈥檇 suffered because of the center.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sad that we now have to have a police presence at our BOE meetings,鈥� Joly wrote. 鈥淗owever, I feel unsafe when an angry mob of over 30 people is gathered outside the Town Hall and they are all screaming at me.鈥�
What鈥檚 happened since
Since the board鈥檚 decision, Joly has resigned. In an interview with , she said she left her position because there was 鈥渟o much hate鈥� and she felt people 鈥� primarily Democrats 鈥� were spreading lies and harassing her.
鈥淚 just felt like I wasn鈥檛 safe, and so I asked the town manager and the superintendent to provide police protection, because some of the people in the group had already professed that they had mental health issues, and I was afraid someone might attack me,鈥� Joly said in the WINY interview.
Joly did not respond to interview requests from the CT Mirror.
Ferron said he鈥檚 hopeful he and the rest of the remaining board members can address the mental health concerns.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that I can step up and handle the job and move the board and the schools forward,鈥� he said.
The board was set to discuss alternative proposals and a one-year contract for the health center at its April 27 meeting, Ferron said.
The state investigation
Dozens of Killingly residents submitted a formal on April 5 to the state Department of Education, alleging that the board had 鈥渇ailed to fulfill the education interest of the State of 海角换妻 by failing to provide the minimum services and supports necessary to deal with the social, emotional and mental health needs of the students of Killingly High School.鈥�
On April 11, the state agreed to investigate the issue, which is unusual.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see many of these happen,鈥� said Eric Scoville, a Department of Education spokesman. 鈥淭hey only happen 鈥� when there鈥檚 a lot of evidence that is provided.鈥�
Complaints of this type are typically filed when someone is alleging that a particular district isn鈥檛 meeting the educational interests of the state, said Mike McKeon, Department of Education legal director.
On Monday, the board was granted a five-day extension to submit a response to the complaint, meaning it will have to respond by early May, McKeon said. After that, Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker will review evidence.
She鈥檒l have the chance to request documents or call the parties in to answer questions. Then she鈥檒l make a recommendation to the state Board of Education, either saying she doesn鈥檛 think there鈥檚 sufficient evidence to prove the allegation or recommending a remediation plan for the district to fix the issue, McKeon said.
The board will make the final determination on what should be done.
鈥淕iven the process, that could take a few months,鈥� McKeon said.
Several Killingly residents, including Yater and Killingly senior Julianna Morrissette, went to speak to the state board at its April meeting and ask members to investigate.
They both feel more hopeful about the center now that Joly has resigned.
Over-politicized
Most of the Republicans on the local board, save one, voted no to the center. Lydia Rivera-Abrams, a Democrat, also voted no.
Rivera-Abrams鈥� vote hinged on her concern that children who don鈥檛 have individualized education plans won鈥檛 be able to get immediate help if they are in crisis. She doesn鈥檛 want them to have to wait for appointments if they need help now, she said.
Superintendent Robert Angeli said during an April board meeting that individualized education plans and therapy aren鈥檛 the same, and that under the health center plan, all high school kids could have access to mental health care. Rivera-Abrams鈥� argument is that the children with special education needs already have extra people attending to them.
鈥淭hat, to me, has not been addressed satisfactorily,鈥� Rivera-Abrams said in an interview.
She鈥檇 also like to see more family therapy and parental involvement. She proposed an alternative plan to the health center that would add positions to the 2022-23 budget using the district鈥檚 non-lapsing account, intended for emergencies.
The additional staff would include more special education teachers, a psychotherapist, a family therapist, two language coaches, two math coaches and two hall monitors. They鈥檇 be given signing bonuses of $5,000 and have a one-year contract.
Opponents fear the district, which has struggled to recruit educators, won鈥檛 be able to find people to fill the positions. Chris Viens, one of the other Democrats on the board, questioned whether it would be appropriate to dip into the non-lapsing account.
鈥淚t seems to me as though, as a board, we were saying we need to go into the non-lapsing account because there鈥檚 an emergency,鈥� Viens said during an April meeting of the board. 鈥淏ut it feels like that emergency was created by the board not approving the [school]-based health center. So it seems like we鈥檙e going into action for an emergency that we created ourselves.鈥�
Viens voted in favor of the health center and during the April meeting proposed revisiting the issue, with a one-year contract rather than five. His motion to add it to the agenda was voted down, although members agreed to add it to the April 27 meeting agenda, along with other alternative plans.
鈥淚鈥檓 100% behind the school-based health center, and I have been from the start,鈥� Viens said in an interview.
Board member Jason Muscara said in the informational session that schools should only be for learning, according to the complaint.
Muscara was criticized during his campaign for his since-severed membership in the nationalist group the American Guard. He had served as vice president for the group鈥檚 海角换妻 chapter but said later that he realized the group didn鈥檛 fit in with his values, so he ended his membership.
The group was by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2017.
Muscara did not respond to requests for comment.
Kelly Martin, the Republican who voted for the health center, declined to comment and said several times during the board鈥檚 April meeting that the community needs to heal through compromise. Martin was voted vice chair of the board after Joly鈥檚 resignation and Ferron鈥檚 appointment as chair.
Others voiced concerns that parents won鈥檛 be able to opt out or that the district will wind up paying for the service.
Ferron, the only board Republican who commented for this story, said he鈥檇 be more likely to consider the school-based health center if he had assurances that parents could opt out and if the contract was shorter.
State law allows children to receive mental health care without parental consent under certain circumstances, such as a crisis.
In an interview, he agreed that the issue had become too political.
鈥淚 think the issue has been over-politicized for sure, and I think 鈥� I liked the tempo of this last night鈥檚 meeting,鈥� he said of the April 13 meeting. 鈥淚 was impressed by the behavior of the people in attendance, and I think it was a lot more reasoned discussion.鈥�
He also said he liked the sound of a program called Rachel鈥檚 Challenge, which aims to address bullying. Muscara proposed it as an alternative to the health center.
Rachel鈥檚 Challenge, named for one of the first victims of the Columbine shooting, has several programs for schools that work toward improving connections through social-emotional learning. Social-emotional learning is a method of teaching that includes a focus on self-awareness, self-control and empathy. It鈥檚 been shown to .
Jasmine Berti, a Killingly resident who runs a Facebook group called Parental Rights of 海角换妻, also brought up the idea of peer mediation in public comment. Peer mediation is a way of resolving conflict with trained student mediators.
鈥淚 think that it would be great for students to be able to talk to each other after school, because I was bullied from kindergarten up at all the schools I鈥檝e ever gone to, and school counseling didn鈥檛 help at all,鈥� Berti said in the public comment period.
The proposed solution
Generations Family Health Center held an informational session early in 2022 and presented its plan to the community, marking Morrissette鈥檚 first substantive introduction to the center.
Morrissette, a senior, has been in therapy for years for anxiety and depression. Earlier in high school, she had to be pulled out of Spanish class twice a week, and she was visiting the guidance counselor and school nurse often with mental health-related symptoms.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楾his is great, like, it would be a good addition to the school,鈥欌�� said Morrissette.
Nearly 30 other 海角换妻 districts have school-based health centers, including Putnam, Windham and Norwich.
The Killingly school center would have started at three days per week until caseloads increased and necessitated full-time hours. The school had a space on the third floor.
The school was one of a handful of 海角换妻 districts to be recommended for a school-based health center by the state School Based Health Center Expansion Workgroup.
Generations would have billed insurance, but students wouldn鈥檛 have been charged outside of that, according to a presentation from Generations.
Generations would have never charged the district for the services, according to the presentation, although several opponents said they feared that would change.
Generations also said that parental involvement in treatment is 鈥渆mphasized as crucial to successful treatment.鈥�
Its website includes forms for both the parents and child to sign.
Generations did not respond to a request for comment.
Therapy inside the school?
Students in Killingly point to 2017 as the start of their heightened mental health troubles. It was a rough year in the town.
A student died of cancer in the last days of 2016.
That January, a longtime assistant principal died. , a 16-year-old student was killed in a car crash., another student was found unresponsive on the side of the road and died about a week before his 16th birthday.
And a seventh-grader died during a softball game in May.
In a town the size of Killingly, where everyone knows everyone else, the deaths reverberated through the community. There was a community vigil. The school brought in service dogs and therapists. But after they left, the students鈥� wounds lingered.
鈥淵ou鈥檇 think after all our class went through and all the classes around our age, that they would continue to help us with that sort of stuff, [and] they kind of just forgot about it once time has passed,鈥� Yater said.
In 2018, just months after the in Parkland, Fla., an active shooter threat put the entire school in lockdown. A student recounted the experience in public comment to the local board. She recalled crouching under desks with her fellow classmates, texting loved ones goodbye and watching their teachers try to hide tears.
The 2018 threat turned out to be a plastic BB gun, but the experience sticks in students鈥� minds as lockdowns became a more common occurrence.
For the 2018-19 school year, the district brought in counselors and social workers from Discovery Counseling Center, a mental health nonprofit in Killingly. School staff could refer students to the center, a similar model to the one proposed to the board this year, said Elise Geary, the high school principal.
The counselors had a full caseload, and the school 鈥渃ould have used more,鈥� Geary said. The program fizzled out during COVID, but when the kids came back to school it was clear they needed care after two years of isolation.
The program benefited students and helped them do better in school, Geary added. As it is now, there are often long waiting lists for private therapy, and students have to miss class for appointments. If therapy were offered at the school, missed class would be minimized, she said.
Most board members have said they understand there鈥檚 a need for mental health care but don鈥檛 think the school-based health center is the way to go. At the April 13 board meeting, members proposed alternative plans, some of which aim to support mental health care but aren鈥檛 therapy programs.
But Ferron and others have said there鈥檚 a need to focus more on academics. He said in an interview that he wants to see students attend therapy after school if they need it, rather than missing class.
鈥淚鈥檓 also concerned that not just in Killingly, all schools nationwide are spending too much time on side issues,鈥� Ferron said. 鈥淚 think mental health should be handled by mental health people in a mental health setting.鈥�
Over the past three years, Killingly鈥檚 school nurse has seen a 50% increase in visits related to anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the school-based health center presentation.
Districtwide, calls to 211 for mental health assistance are up 10% compared to the 2018-19 school year.
Julia Revellese, 17, left Killingly her sophomore year because she needed more mental health care for an anxiety disorder. She was leaving school early so that her mom could take her to private therapy, and her grades were slipping.
鈥淚 was losing myself,鈥� Revellese said.
Even though she鈥檇 been at Killingly since kindergarten, she made the switch and attends Quinebaug Middle College, which offers concurrent high school and college courses as well as mental health care. She made the dean鈥檚 list this year.
鈥淚 did it for me,鈥� she said of the switch. 鈥淚 think if I hadn鈥檛, I wouldn鈥檛 be here right now.鈥�
Now she鈥檚 among those pushing for the center. She wants other students to have the care she didn鈥檛.