Society has given teachers increasingly greater responsibility for our children over the past decade or two — in loco parentis truly means, teaching, feeding, clothing, keeping safe and healthy, and protecting — all with the expectation these teachers will also help students keep up with ever-changing educational standards, too.

But teachers have kept adjusting. After all, they do their jobs because they care about students’ wellbeing on more than an academic level.

A recent partnership between University Hospitals and the Willoughby-Eastlake school district may give them another tool. According to a report by Spectrum News 1 in Cleveland, it will help teachers “better identify students suffering from behavioral health issues and connect them to help.”

Supporting Teachers for Improving Students’ Mental Health includes sessions that focus on topics such as anxiety and social media.

“Almost every mental health disorder presents as trouble at school,” said program creator Dr. Molly McVoy. “Teachers want, so much, to do well by their students, but feel under-prepared with how to support the increasingly complex needs students have.”

McVoy also understands teachers are usually first to notice that kids are stressed or acting out, but don’t always know why, according to Spectrum News.

Teaching educators how to be more aware of mental health concerns for students, and how to find them the right support will help them prepare to do better for their students.

Should the program prove effective, school districts across Ohio will want to consider whether something similar is possible in their own communities. Teachers are already doing their best to help vulnerable students. Giving them better ways to do that is a win for all of us.