On Oct. 4, approximately 75 community leaders met at the Silex R-I School District–at the intersection of education and mental health–for the 2023 LCRB Legislative Summit & Mobile Outreach Tour sponsored by Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Missouri.

Attendees included: Superintendents from Lincoln County schools; Missouri Representatives Doyle Justus and Chad Perkins; Missouri Senator Travis Fitzwater;  representatives Brian Nichols from U.S. Congressman Sam Graves’ office and Madeleine Castle from U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s office; Lincoln County Resource Board (LCRB) members; funded providers; and other community and civic leaders.

At Silex, we explored how to navigate the dangerous intersection our rural schools and communities face when working to address unprecedented student mental health needs while operating from a small-town tax base.

Attendees heard remarks from Superintendent Nick Heggemann; Toyota’s Donna Orf;  Compass Health Network’s school-based prevention team (demonstrating how they empower students to manage emotions and self-regulate); Silex R-I Guidance Counselor Hillari Heitgerd regarding student needs and how the LCRB partners with schools to support students’ health and academic pursuits; and more.

Thank you to the Silex School District for hosting this critical forum where we asked our policymakers to: Provide consistent investments in our schools’ and students’ mental health supports to retain educators, educate modern students, and maintain an educated and skilled workforce.