Franklin school gets presentation on mental illness

FRANKLIN — Patricia Pfeil, principal of Franklin Borough School, talked about a three-hour workshop from the National Association of Mental Illness that was recently presented at the school.

The workshop opened with a video viewing four children’s stories on living and coping with mental illness. Statistics show than one in five children suffer from some form of mental illness.

NAMI's goal is to educate school personnel and social workers to help them read the signs of students who might suffer from some form of a mental health disorder. Educating the teachers can enable them to identify and get help for students that need some help, Pfeil said. NAMI’s purpose nationwide, statewide and locally is to improve the lives of children and adults struggling with a mental illnesses.

"There is a stigma with mental illness," Franklin Superintendent Thomas Turner said.

Education and knowledge can put the mental illness stigma to the side, he said before adding kindness and compassion from the teachers can help these children.

Turner praised the teachers, faculty, and administration for their “excellent caring” nature.