This past month, Samantha Little, the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) Director of Athletics and Wellness, was named Educator of the Year by NAMI-NYS for her tremendous dedication to broadening mental health awareness and partnering with NAMI Finger Lakes through the Huddle Together Initiative.
Huddle Together for Mental Health was created by former Cornell Head Football Coach and NAMI Finger Lakes Board Member David Archer to use the platform of sports to bring education and awareness to mental health. Little worked with Archer and Sandra Sorensen, Executive Director of NAMI Finger Lakes, to connect the Huddle Together programming to ICSD schools.
The partnership resulted in many opportunities for ICSD student-athletes to access resources and hear from community leaders. During the week of October 2, teams were provided with countless resources from NAMI representatives, who were available at all home games. They heard moving presentations from Coach Archer, who shared his perspective on the importance of mental health, and from NAMI Finger Lakes about Ending the Silence, which was also provided as a webinar to families.
“Samantha Little always keeps scholar wellness at the forefront,” Stephanie Valetta, Coordinator of Student Wellness and Athletics, shared. “Whether it is advocating for resources to support open weight room time, access to yoga, or connecting coaches and scholars to programming around mental performance and mental health, Samantha realizes that the ‘athletics’ portion of her job can only be successful if we first focus on and support the ‘wellness’ piece.”
Little was honored at the 2023 NAMI-NYS Education Conference - Our Time: Prioritizing Mental Health in Today’s World in Albany, NY. All 2023 honorees were recognized for their role in helping to broaden awareness of critical mental health issues and their work to provide crucial education and support services.
“Our scholars are lucky to have a leader whose vision is so heavily focused on their well-being,” Valletta added. “Samantha has already begun working on how to continue to grow and expand our Huddle Together offerings and is utilizing student voice to be sure the programming is relevant and useful to our young people.”
Since the start of the pandemic, 70 percent of U.S. public schools reported an increase in students seeking mental health services at school. In the ICSD, we are working hard to prioritize the mental well-being of all our students because we know mentally healthy students are more likely to succeed in all aspects of life. Our school psychologists, social workers, and school counselors are trained professionals who can provide guidance and support for any mental health concerns students may have.
If you or your child are struggling with mental health challenges, there are many resources available to provide support and guidance at the school level and locally. Tompkins County is committed to supporting people who are experiencing a mental health crisis or mental health-related distress. Please visit their website for a complete list of services available in our area. If you need help making a connection or determining the right fit for your child, please contact your school.
We are committed to centering the needs of our students and will continue to look for ways to increase our capacity to address mental health. We are grateful to our staff who have gone above and beyond to keep our students at the center.
This collaboration was made possible thanks to the efforts of Stephanie Valetta, Coordinator of Student Wellness and advisor for the Scholar-Athlete Council; Kari Burke, Director of Health Services and Wellness; and our scholar-athletes and their families who participated.
