Mental Health and Wellness

NMUSD offers access to Care Solace, an online health and wellness resource with live 24/7 support to assist staff, students, and their families in finding local mental-health-related programs and counseling services. Care Solace is available in multiple languages via phone at 888-515-0595.

Care Solace Website

A school crisis is a sudden, unexpected, or unanticipated critical incident that disrupts the school day.

• A school crisis involves short term turmoil such as shock, confusion and fear.
• Although each student, teacher, parent or other school member experiences each crisis differently, a school crisis can have a broad and immediate impact on many children and adults sufficient to interfere with teaching, learning and behavior

What are common Reactions to a crisis?

• Cognitive, emotional, behavioral, physical, spiritual.
• Heightened physiological arousal disturbs concentration.
• Memory difficulties frustrate retention and retrieval.
• Dissociate reactions, attention and concentration difficulties.

In collaboration In collaboration with the district administration, the school site administrator/designee determines if there is a need for support from  the Crisis Response Team.  The Crisis Response Team are school staff that are trained in evidenced models that support students, staff and parents gain recovery in the aftermath of the critical incident. 

Family Resources Website

Thanks to a partnership with Hazel Health, students can access mental health services, at no out-of-pocket cost, to support them and keep them engaged in their learning. Hazel Health offers teletherapy with licensed therapists Monday through Friday, 7 am-7 pm. Support is available in multiple languages for all students, whether insured or uninsured, regardless of immigration status.

NMUSD Hazel Health website

Teletherapy Services Notice and Opt-In Form (English | Spanish | Russian)
Please return the completed form to the school counselor.

Downloadable flier in English, Spanish, Russian

The Newport Mesa Unified School District is committed to providing a safe, civil and secure school environment. In order to fulfill the District's mission, it is essential that all NMUSD students are able to learn in an environment that is safe and free from acts of intimidation, threats of violence or actual violence.

Each school site has trained professional student support teams that work collaboratively with the student, parents and site to ensure student safety.  NMUSD has established guidelines for assessing and managing threats at schools. The Threat Assessment Team is comprised of an administrator, a mental health professional, and a School Resource Officer.  The role of the multi-disciplinary school Threat Assessment Team is to gather information and assess whether an individual poses a risk of violence at school and to develop an action plan to mitigate that risk.

Newport Mesa Unified School District is committed to the health and well-being of all students.   The district acknowledges that students learn best when their social and emotional health is tended to.   In addition, protecting the health and well-being of all students is of utmost importance to our school district. With this in mind, NMUSD offers a number of programs and services that promote student well-being and support suicide prevention.  These programs range from onsite crisis support, referrals to community counseling and training for students and staff.

Each school site has trained professional student support teams that work collaboratively with parents to ensure that social and emotional barriers to student learning are identified and addressed. If your student is experiencing distress or needs assistance with issues of well-being, please contact your child’s counselor or a site administrator.

Resources on youth well-being and suicide prevention can also be found below.        

Suicidal Thinking and Threats 

District Policy on Pupil Suicide Prevention for Kindergarten through Grade 12  BP 5141.52

Mental health and outreach services are offered to students through a behavioral tiered approach to interventions. This model progresses from providing support and intervention for all students to individualized support to specific students in greater need.

TIER 1:  Universal Intervention

Preventative services and practices are available to students in increase and promote protective factors for students.

TIER 2:  Early Interventions

Services at this level are targeted to support students that are at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders that are negatively impacting educational performance. Services promote resiliency and student wellness.

TIER 3:  Intensive Interventions

Services at this level are geared towards are experiencing significant social, emotional and behavioral concerns. Services are more individualized support students in managing emotional or behavioral challenges that are negatively impacting educational performance. 

NMUSD is collaborating with the Orange County Department of Education to provide the Tobacco-Use Prevention Education (TUPE) program to students and community members.

The following resources through the Orange County Health Care Agency are available to help students quit tobacco:

• Information on tobacco cessation and education services through the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP).

• “What you need to know about tobacco to talk to your teens” from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• Materials on the dangers of e-cigs and vapes developed by the Orange County Department of Education in partnership with the Orange County Health Care Agency and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department with funding from the California Department of Education Tobacco-Use Prevention Education Program.