Crookston Middle School science teacher Brad Hubred will offer a mental health course to CMS students during their WIN period.
The WIN period is an elective portion of the student’s schedule because they can choose where they spend this portion of the day. “This will take place during WIN time,” said Hubred, “Our WIN time is thirty minutes a day, and every two weeks, our teachers can create their curriculum, and the kids get to pick and choose where they go for their WIN class. So, for these two weeks, I chose to do a WIN class on mental health.”
Mental Health awareness is a passion for Hubred. During his tenure at Moose Lake school district, he made not only Moose Lake a blue-ribbon school but the entire city a blue-ribbon community. Hubred’s efforts made Moose Lake the second Blue Ribbon City worldwide.
The blue ribbon campaign is a distribution of blue ribbons that say “Who I am making a difference” printed on the front and distributed to students after they are told the positive things about the individual face-to-face. Hubred claims to have plenty of blue ribbons to spread the message, but every year, he goes beyond that by writing every one of his students a one-page handwritten letter.
“I write all of my students one-page handwritten letters to tell them all of the positives I see in them,” said Hubred, “I’ve also connected with a worldwide program called ‘Who I am makes a difference,’ which allows you to reach out and say all of the positive things you see in them and they get to pin the blue ribbon on them.”
On Tuesday, October 24, the Crookston Middle School students will have a chance to attend this mental health course and listen to the well-known guest speaker “Grandma Sparky,” who is the founder of Blue Ribbon. “This will be a perfect fit for her because she has a very vibrant personality,” said Hubred, “She is the founder of Blue Ribbon, and she is also an author and Ted Talk speaker.” Grandma Sparky will be joining Crookston Middle School students via Zoom from California.
Hubred encourages this course for CMS students because it can be very beneficial. This course can help students struggling with mental health and feel comfortable talking to someone rather than dealing with it alone.
“What I want them to get out of this is saying what you need to say,” said Hubred. “Being able to take positives from each other and realizing that you have to continue connecting with people on a deeper level because we don’t know what people are going through.”
Hubred also explained any interaction could change someone’s life, even if it’s as small as bumping into someone in the hallway and saying hello.
To see a news story about the Blue Ribbon Foundation and Brad Hubred, you can watch this WDIO ABC news clip by clicking here.
