Chicago public schools help students build mental health coping skills

Two girls hang birdhouses made as part of a environmental club sponsored by the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and funded by Chicago Public Schools. The club helps students build social connections many missed during the pandemic. (Kathleen Hayes)

When Alex Balleza was a freshman at Mather High School during the 2019-2020 school year, she felt socially isolated. 

She also was in a romantic relationship that she now calls “toxic.” Then she heard about a program at Mather called Working on Womanhood, which promised opportunities to meet other girls and talk about problems. Alex signed up.