- [Narrator] Coming up on "Inside California Education."

Meet Meghan Murphy, a certified wellness coach in Placer County.

Her new certified position in the state helps support the growing need to improve students' mental wellbeing.

- Look at that.

Nice job.

(palms smacking) - I think kids are just full of love and oftentimes all they want is an adult to connect with, an adult to listen to them.

- [Narrator] Discover how new rules impact the ways high school sports teams practice in extreme heat.

California is now 1 of 15 states to pass an Extreme Heat and Air Quality Policy to keep student athletes safe and healthy on hot practice days.

(bright music) In El Dorado County, peer advocates are helping students navigate high school by creating a safe and welcoming environment.

These juniors and seniors offer their peers a support system to tackle issues from bullying to food insecurity.

- They are somebody who you can go to for literally anything.

We are here just to talk.

We are here if you need resources.

(bright upbeat music) - [Narrator] Plus, see how this construction program in Sacramento teaches the basics of the trade while building a foundation for these students' futures.

- They're excited to come to school.

They sometimes, you know, construction, this is the one thing that gets them to school.

- [Narrator] It's all coming up next on "Inside California Education."

- [Presenter] Funding for "Inside California Education" is made possible by - [Announcer] The California Lottery is turning 40.

And together with players, retail partners and our staff, we're celebrating decades of raising extra money for public education.

More than $46 billion in four decades of having fun.

Thank you from the California Lottery.

- [Announcer] Imagine a credit union where school employees are treated like the heroes you are.

At SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, everything we do starts with helping school employees and their families live better today and plan for tomorrow.

Learn more at schoolsfirstfcu.org.

- [Announcer] The Stuart Foundation, improving life outcomes for young people through education.

College Board, helping all students own their future.

- [Presenter] Additional funding for "Inside California Education" is made possible by these organizations supporting public education.

(upbeat lively music) (upbeat energetic music) (vehicle whooshing) (school bell ringing) (children applauding) (upbeat energetic music) (gentle music) - My name is Meghan Murphy.

I'm a certified wellness coach with Placer County Office of Education, housed here at Colfax Elementary School.

We have a rough population of about 360 students here at Colfax Elementary School.

We're a one school school district and we've always been a Kindergarten through 8th Grade model.

(gentle rhythmic music) - [Meghan] Hey, Delilah, how's it going?

- Good.

- Awesome.

You here for a wellness break?

Come on in.

Wellness coaches are providing non-clinical services and supports to students.

Whatever looks good.

- Can I choose this one?

- This is your break.

Perfect.

We're a little bit different than your typical school counselor or your school social worker.

Those are licensed clinical positions where they can provide counseling services directly to students.

How's your day going so far, Miss Delilah?

- [Delilah] Good.

- Our role is really to help support and buffer the areas where those professions aren't able to reach all students.

So, we focus on areas like social emotional development, providing safe spaces for students when they're experiencing difficulty.

(legos rattling) And being able to help coach them with different life skills.

Skills that they'll be able to take into their educational settings and be able to thrive.

- Voila, look at that.

Nice job.

(palms smacking) I think seeing their faces light up when they were able to take a skill that I taught them and put it into practice and watch the outcome of that?

Those things are really powerful and really make my heart and my cup just full of joy.

I think kids are just full of love, and oftentimes all they want is an adult to connect with, an adult to listen to them.

What was going on that made you feel frustrated?

- My sister.

She's trying to be my mom.

- Yeah.

That can happen sometimes with sisters.

I have a sister too.

Listening is so key.

Oftentimes, adults in our kiddos lives are busy juggling work and family and responsibilities, that kiddos are often missed.

And so, to be able to have somebody that can genuinely show up for them and genuinely listen to them, it really makes an impact on that child.

That is our time.

Awesome.

Good work.

Teamwork.

So, our wellness center is intended to be a safe space here on campus that any one of our students can access us throughout the day.

(knuckles thunking) (door latch clicking) Hey, Lilly.

- Hi.

- How are you?

- Good.

- Good.

Welcome in.

- I've been coming here since 3rd Grade to where I just come in here for like 15, 20 minutes and just talk about what's been happening.

- [Meghan] How are things going with friendships?

- They're going good.

It helps me with my ADHD because it helps me calm down.

(gentle melodic music) - It's really about meeting a child's basic needs and be able to provide students with support right away instead of having them wait.

We don't ever want students to wait when they're experiencing a mental health crisis.

(knuckles thunking) Hey, Cece.

- Hi.

- Come on in.

How's it going?

- It's going really good.

- Good.

You having a good day so far?

- Yeah.

- Awesome.

Are you here for a wellness break?

- Yeah.

- Very good.

Well, I have some stuff set up for us over here on the table if you'd like to do that?

- Yeah.

- Perfect.

Let's go.

- Miss Meghan when she talks to me, I understand it a lot and it helps me a lot.

- [Meghan] All right.

How's your day going so far?

- It's going pretty good.

Sometimes you need to talk to someone and sometimes there's not always to talk to.

But when you come in here, there's always someone to talk to in here and they can help you.

I feel really grateful because I feel safe and feels like when I have a problem I can just come here and it gets solved really easy.

If we do it wrong the first time, then the road's just gonna be rocky the rest of the way.

I like coming here because it's really calm in here and they make me feel better about the school because I just moved here.

And they said, "Here's some ways you can adjust to it."

And I learned everything's not gonna be easy but sometimes you just gotta push through.

- All right, Miss Cece.

I hope you have a great rest of your day.

- Bye.

- Bye.

We'll see you later.

I do my best to be as involved as possible in the day to day of our students.

I don't like to be bunkered down in here very often.

I enjoy engaging with them on the playground.

(children chattering) There you go.

- Bang.

- Nice.

Just trying to be a warm adult in their life that helps to make their day better.

Don't laugh.

Ooh!

Oh!

(laughs) Oh.

I have always loved working with children since I was very young.

I grew up in Colfax, California, born and raised here, and went to Colfax Elementary School myself as a student.

I graduated from Colfax High School, so this community is really special to me.

It's been really a fun experience to work in the school that I went to as a student.

There are teachers here that are still working that were teachers of mine when I was a student, so it's a really special, unique experience to work alongside them as colleagues.

My job is extremely rewarding and I feel really honored to serve the families and children of Colfax in the community that raised me.

(percussive music) (tennis ball thwacking) - [Narrator] For countless student athletes throughout California, playing an outdoor sport means they'll likely have to endure some hot practice days.

With California experiencing more frequent extreme heat events and longer heat waves, those days can be tough on the body and mind.

- It's definitely hard lunging after every ball when you can feel the heat beating down on you.

So, it's also just a mental challenge trying to push through that.

- [Narrator] In addition to impacting an athlete's performance, there's increasing focus on how those hot days impact their health and safety.

National research shows that heat-related illness is among the top three causes of death for high school athletes in the US.

In 2024, the California Interscholastic Federation or CIF, the governing body for high school sports became one of 15 states to pass an Extreme Heat and Air Quality Policy.

It provides a set of standard rules for teams that practice and play on hot days.

- Some people have rules, some people didn't have rules, some people had different rules.

We wanted to standardize those rules with regard to heat illness.

And again, it comes down to the safety of student athletes.

(alarm beeping) - [Narrator] The new policy requires the use of this.

The Wet-Bulb Globe.

It's a tool that's placed on the same surface the athletes will be using.

It measures not just the temperature but humidity, wind speed, sun angle and solar radiation, providing a better assessment of how dangerous the heat is that day.

- It takes the guessing out of, "Is it okay as a coach?

Should we go out and do this?"

You know, where you could be criticized.

It takes the guessing out of players saying, "Well, isn't it too hot out here?"

And so, I think it's a really good system.

- [Narrator] The globe provides a reading which corresponds with outdoor activity guidelines.

Those guidelines clarify how many rest and water breaks that students need, how long they can practice outside, and whether additional gear like shoulder pads and helmets should be restricted.

- Right now, just on the reading from the globe, it would be considered a, "Hey, right now we're in yellow.

You can have your two-hour practice.

Just make sure that you're hydrating, making sure that you're watching and paying attention to what's going on."

- [Narrator] The new policy also helps students acclimate to extreme heat during the first few weeks of the fall sports season.

Finnegan says they start football practice in July when temperatures often reach triple digits.

- It definitely is a shock that first week when you come back and get pads on in the heat, especially our helmets with our school, it's black and it kinda just adds a little bit.

- [Narrator] During the acclimation period, coaches monitor athletes closely and gradually increase activity.

- Ready?

- Break.

- [Narrator] There's also a focus on water breaks.

When they're needed, practice schedules are changed to mornings instead of after school.

- That's good.

There we go.

- [Narrator] Tennis coach and PE director Jill Butler says this is a clear and much needed change in how hot days and high school sports have worked in the past.

- When I was in high school, there were no heat rules.

We practiced no matter what.

Rain or shine, smoke, heat.

It made you tougher back then.

And now, I think we're tougher by being prepared and not putting our bodies in danger.

- [Narrator] For football, that may mean moving to an indoor workout or the weight room during dangerous heat times.

Where a team may once have pushed harder in the heat, coaches say they're now required to be smarter, which takes a lot of pressure off everyone.

- You know, in football you kinda get the mentality of the toughness is gonna make us better.

We have to go through and do it, right?

I think it takes that off the coach.

The coach has the reading and this is what it is, and I think it builds a trust between the coaches and players.

- [Narrator] Coaches and athletic directors say the trust, transparency, and clear guidance makes handling hot days easier for everyone while also providing an important lesson for students.

- We only have these kids for four years and they're gonna continue to play sports and be outdoors, especially in California.

So, we want them to understand if they feel dizzy or they're not sweating anymore, they know how to take care of their bodies.

So, we're teaching life skills and making lifelong learners out of these kids.

So that's, we think it's really important.

- [Narrator] For these student athletes, that life skill means understanding that being tough also means being smart about extreme heat.

(tennis ball thwacking) Still ahead on "Inside California Education."

See how construction training at this Sacramento community school helps students explore career options and build important life skills.

But first, see how the Peer Advocates Program trains juniors and seniors to serve as mentors for their peers and address challenges students may be facing in their high school years.

(gentle lively music) The teenage years can be a challenging time for any student, but at Golden Sierra Junior Senior High School in rural El Dorado County, an innovative program is making those tumultuous years more manageable.

It's called the Peer Advocates Program, and it puts students in charge of helping each other, providing support services both on campus and in the community.

(students and teachers applauding) - A peer advocate is a peer-to-peer educator, mentor and support system.

- Any sort of resources you would need, you can come to me and I can help you.

- They are somebody who you can go to for literally anything.

We are here just to talk.

We're here if you need resources.

In our community, we act as voices for everybody.

- [Narrator] Peer advocates are 11th and 12th graders who undergo months of training.

They're equipped to help younger students navigate everything from bullying to food insecurity, to classroom conflicts.

- How would you say that freshman year has been going so far for you?

- Every 9th grader has a peer advocate that works with them.

And then, we also go in and work with the 7th and 8th graders as needed.

We'll be connecting with- - [Narrator] Larry Bryant, a 9th grade science and health teacher launched the program at Golden Sierra in 2022 to help ease the transition to high school by connecting incoming students with mentors close to their own age.

The curriculum was by the California-based organization Peer Advocates Training and Consulting.

Today, any student on campus can request a peer advocate whenever they need one.

- The peer advocates are connected to all the community resources.

So, if a student needed clothes or food or driving lessons, just about anything, they know the people in the community that can support those kinds of things.

So, they're experts in guiding a student to the resources they need.

- Okay.

You want it?

- [Narrator] Peer advocates don't act as therapists or counselors, but at a 7th to 12th grade school that only has two campus counselors, they do help fill a critical gap.

They also lead presentations for students by students.

- So, 3 out of the 4 Mondays of the month we are doing presentations in Homeroom class and we go over things like mental health, tobacco, use and prevention, alcohol use and prevention, and bullying and such.

- It means something very different if a senior or a junior in high school comes into their class and talks to 'em about vaping than if a 50-year-old teacher or counselor comes into their class and talks to them about vaping.

- [Narrator] Tim Hooey coordinates mental health and wellness for the El Dorado County Office of Education.

Since the program launched, it's been adopted by nine other schools.

Now, his office has made peer advocates a county-wide initiative providing training tools and funding for all of El Dorado County's 15 school districts.

- El Dorado County, like many other rural counties certainly lacks mental health clinicians.

It's a huge need in our county.

I think what we've seen is that peer advocacy is a way to start to fill that gap and meet that need.

- [Narrator] Students say the program is changing the school culture, creating a more caring environment and shaping not only the freshman experience but also profoundly impacting the peer advocates themselves.

- I think it takes a lot of compassion.

You really need to step into another person's shoes and see what they're going through to really connect with them, in my opinion.

- It's been a lot easier for me.

- After doing this program, I started to figure out more what I wanted to do, and also with a lot of other life experiences that I've had, I realized that I wanted to major in nursing and minor in psychology.

- [Narrator] Elena isn't the only advocate considering a career in mental health.

Many of her fellow advocates are also looking to the future.

- They are fully aware of just the different types of challenges that are occurring within their generation, such as anxiety and issues of depression and isolation.

But what's powerful about this generation is they actually want to be a part of the solution.

- There's been so many people who struggled in high school and like, you talk to grownups and they're like, "Oh yeah, I didn't really like high school, so I didn't feel connected within my community."

- [Narrator] At an age where many students feel alone and in an era of increasing digital isolation, this program offers human connection, teaching empathy, problem solving, and a sense of community while showing students that helping others can be its own reward.

- Making people feel good about themselves because I feel like that's what sometimes, society struggles with that nowadays.

And feeling like I make a difference in helping people feel better about themselves is really important to me.

- [Narrator] For the teacher who started this program at one school and watched it spread throughout the county, the success is no surprise.

He believes young people today are far more capable than we realize.

- They're incredible.

They're incredible young people, and sometimes we underestimate how amazing teenagers can be.

(gentle melodic music) (students and teachers laughing) (lively percussive music) (gentle upbeat music) - [Narrator] At Nathaniel S. Colley High School in Sacramento, these students are constructing the foundation of this sandbox and building their futures.

- Most of my students don't have any construction experience at all.

It is one of the questions I ask right off the bat just to get a feel and also reassure them that if they don't have the construction experience, we're gonna teach 'em everything they need to know.

- [Narrator] Mike Anckner is an instructor with Northern California Construction Training or NCCT, which offers construction free apprenticeships at Sacramento County community schools.

He's been teaching with them for over a decade.

His father-in-law started the program in the 1990s to give people the opportunity to explore construction careers.

Colley High is a community school run by the Sacramento County Office of Education, and is all about opportunity.

Students here receive extra academic support and can obtain credits towards graduation they might not have received at a traditional high school.

They also have the chance to take career technical education courses like construction training.

- They're excited to come to school.

They sometimes, you know, construction, this is the one thing that gets them to school.

- It's just an open space.

The teacher just, you know, just told, it's like, if you wanna be in a construction program, you can be in one too, and then I just choose to be in it 'cause I know I could gain a lot of experience.

- When I first came, I didn't know how to do many, like a lot of things, I didn't know how to talk to people.

Like, I didn't know how to do any measuring things.

But now I do.

- The pre-apprenticeship is really just trying to teach them some of the basic foundational skills like tape measure, like the ability to use a speed square.

It just prepares them so that if they do get into an apprenticeship, which usually lasts four to five years long depending on the trade, it basically prepares them and gives, especially my students because of their age, the confidence they need.

We start out with some smaller projects.

We might build just a basic box.

I always tell the kids, you know, "If we can build a box 12 inches by 12 inches, then why can't we build one 12-foot by 12-foot?"

Or you know, just expand your mind a little bit, right?

- [Narrator] Students of all experience levels are working as a team on this sandbox.

It folds out to reveal two benches.

Dwight has been in the program for two years and is in charge of building the structure for this project, also known as framing.

As he drills screws, Eric is helping put all the pieces together.

- I like framing because it's not hard and it's not easy.

But you just, like, once you putting something together, you be like, oh, you doing a good job and it motivates you to keep on going.

- [Narrator] Outside, Kevin cuts wood boards with a circular saw.

And Kelayhia, a newer construction student uses an orbital sander on each piece.

Mike works closely with the students, offering guidance throughout the process.

- Get it in your groove first.

There you go.

Okay, and then come up and do it.

- The thing I like the most is teamwork where you get to work with your friends and just talk and then just help each other out, see what they need to be helped on, and just give us a lot of experience and stuff.

- It's fun being able to just build whatever I want, whatever I could think of.

It's just, I don't know, I just enjoy it.

I just like working with my hands and doing hands-on projects.

- [Narrator] Along with their hands, construction requires brain power too.

- Math is one of the more challenging parts, so that's something we do in this classroom is we spend a good portion talking about fractions and tape measure and really trying to hone those skills, so that when they go out there, they're confident in what they're doing.

- I think really a lot of them, it's the first time where academics make sense to them because they're able to take math whether it's using the ruler or if Mike's working with them with fractions and how that relates into how they're cutting pieces of wood and reading a blueprint diagram.

There's a lot of ways in which construction supports the academics and helps to strengthen that.

- The most important thing is, like, not to give up or, and just keep on trying.

Like I could just, I could redo it.

Like the mistakes, I could just, like, if I make a mistake, I could just refill it and re, like, continue going on.

- [Narrator] This pre-apprenticeship prepares students to apply for construction apprenticeships after graduating.

Others say the class gives them life skills to help build almost anything they want.

- I wanna do like carpenter, like, carpentry.

I wanna learn how to do that.

So, I'm just trying to do this, so I can do that.

- I wanna build my cousin a swing set here so I could put it together at the house for him, so he could have something to play on.

And then, like, what else?

Whatever else we could build.

I'm interested in building anything.

- I got other dreams that I wanna pursue too, but construction is gonna be a part of my life that, you know, if somebody need help in building stuff, you know, I can help out a little bit.

- [Narrator] Mike and the students say construction training builds important habits and lasting connections.

- We focus a lot on the life skills.

Showing up on time is one of 'em, right?

Just showing up and always having something to do.

Always being safe, right?

That's our number one priority.

- Don't put your fingers by the saw.

That's really important.

And always wear safety glasses and hard hat.

- When I hear one student tell another that, you know, "I'm not a big fan of school necessarily, but it's one of the only reasons I come to school is so that I can be a part of this program or be in Mr.

Mike's class," that's one of the most rewarding things I can possibly hear.

- [Narrator] That's it for this edition of "Inside California Education."

If you'd like more information about the program, log onto our website insidecaled.org.

We have stories from all of our shows and you can connect with us on social media.

Thanks for joining us.

We'll see you next time on "Inside California Education."

(children chattering) - There you go.

- Bang.

- Nice.

(tennis ball thwacking) (water trickling) - [Student] Me too.

- How would you say that freshman year has been going so far for you?

- It's been a lot easier for me because- - Get it in your groove first.

There you go.

(saw whirring) - [Presenter] Funding for "Inside California Education" is made possible by - [Announcer] The California Lottery is turning 40.

And together with players, retail partners, and our staff, we're celebrating decades of raising extra money for public education.

More than $46 billion in four decades of having fun.

Thank you from the California Lottery.

- [Announcer] Imagine a credit union where school employees are treated like the heroes you are.

At SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, everything we do starts with helping school employees and their families live better today and plan for tomorrow.

Learn more at schoolfirstfcu.org.

- [Announcer] The Stuart Foundation, improving life outcomes for young people through education.

College Board, helping all students own their future.

- [Presenter] Additional funding for "Inside California Education" is made possible by these organizations supporting public education.

(bright upbeat music)