What does school actually feel like for your students right now? Not just what the data tells us or what we hope is true, but what students genuinely experience from the moment they arrive until they leave. Understanding that experience is where meaningful change and student success begin.
Since 2017, the Student Mental Health Summit has engaged thousands of students, educators, and school teams from across Michigan. Schools don’t attend just to learn – they come to better understand what students experience each day and leave with practical ways to improve it.
This one-day experience brings together students, advisers, counselors, and administrators to engage in meaningful dialogue, interactive learning, and shared problem-solving. While grounded in student perspective, the Summit empowers all participants with practical strategies to build supportive, responsive school environments.
The Student Mental Health Summit is more than a conference; it’s a catalyst for creating healthier, more connected school communities. Through inspiring keynote speakers, interactive learning experiences, and collaborative dialogue, participants will explore the powerful connection between mental health, school culture, and student success.
School teams will leave with practical strategies, fresh ideas, and a shared commitment to strengthening the everyday experiences that help every student feel safe, seen, supported, and connected.
Date: December 7th
Time: 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Cost: $900 per team (2 educators and 4 students)
Location: Crowne Plaza Conference Center, Lansing
Format: Interactive, team-based experience
Change the Daily Experience
Mental health isn’t just about intervention. It’s about the daily experience of every student who walks through your doors.
The Student Mental Health Summit is designed for school teams who want to move beyond awareness and into action. In one day, you’ll hear directly from students, learn from experienced practitioners, collaborate with schools across Michigan, and leave with practical ideas you can put into practice immediately.
This Summit is for you if…
- You want to strengthen the culture and climate of your school.
- You’re looking for practical strategies, not just more information.
- You believe student voice should help shape student well-being.
- You’re searching for ideas that can make an immediate difference.
- You’re ready to turn conversations into action.
Every school will leave with new ideas, practical resources, and a realistic plan to strengthen the everyday experiences that help students feel safe, seen, supported, and connected.
Why Your Team Should Be There
The most effective schools don’t wait for a crisis to focus on mental health, they intentionally create environments where students feel connected, supported, and able to succeed.
The Student Mental Health Summit brings together students, educators, counselors, and administrators to learn from one another, explore what is working in schools across Michigan, and identify practical ways to strengthen the everyday student experience.
Your team will leave with:
- A deeper understanding of how students experience school each day.
- Practical ideas and proven strategies being implemented in other schools.
- Time to reflect, collaborate, and identify opportunities within your own school.
- Resources and tools to continue the conversation and build momentum long after the Summit concludes.
Who Should Attend
Bring a team (or two) – because this work takes alignment.
- Students (leaders, voices, influencers)
- Administrators
- Counselors & mental health staff
- Teachers & advisers
- Anyone shaping the daily student experience
The more perspectives in the room, the more powerful the outcome
How This Experience is Different
The Student Mental Health Summit is intentionally designed to move beyond awareness and into application. Rather than spending the day listening to presentations, participants will engage with students, collaborate with school teams from across Michigan, and reflect on the everyday experiences that shape student well-being.
Student Voice at the Center
Students are more than attendees, they are partners in the conversation. Throughout the Summit, participants will hear directly from students as they share honest perspectives on what helps them feel connected, where challenges exist, and how schools can better support student well-being. Their experiences provide the foundation for meaningful discussion and informed action.
Dedicated Time for Your School Team
Learning doesn’t stop with the keynote. School teams will have structured opportunities to reflect together, examine their own school culture, and identify meaningful ways to strengthen connection, belonging, and support within their building. These guided conversations help turn new ideas into practical opportunities that fit the unique needs of each school.
Learn From Schools Across Michigan
Some of the best ideas are already happening in schools across our state. Through collaborative discussions and cross-school networking, participants will exchange successful practices, discover innovative approaches, and gather practical strategies that can be adapted and implemented in their own communities.
Take the Work Home
Every participating school will receive a Student Mental Health Summit Action Guide featuring guided reflection tools, discussion prompts, planning templates, and practical resources developed throughout the Summit. Rather than leaving with pages of notes, your team will return with a resource designed to continue the conversation, support future planning, and strengthen the everyday experiences that help students feel safe, seen, supported, and connected.
Why This Matters
For many schools, conversations about student mental health naturally focus on intervention; how we recognize when a student is struggling and how we respond. Those conversations are essential, but they represent only one part of creating a healthy school community.
The Student Mental Health Summit invites school teams to broaden that conversation by examining the everyday experiences that shape student well-being. From the way students are welcomed each morning to the relationships they build with adults and peers, those daily interactions influence whether students feel connected, supported, and comfortable asking for help when they need it.
At the heart of this Summit is a simple but important belief: Every student has a daily experience at school. The question isn’t whether that experience shapes their well-being, it’s how intentionally we’re designing it.
CHECK OUT THE CONFERENCE AGENDA