If you have concerns you need to speak about, who do you turn to at the school?

Most students would say their favorite teacher over any other school resource.

Although the wonderful and wise teachers at Blue Valley would be great to talk to about your crush or your weekend plans, talking to them about serious issues may put too much pressure on them because they are not professionally trained for these situations.

However, the BV district is gracious enough to offer counselors, school psychologists, social workers, sobriety groups, school resource officers, a website to report bullying anonymously and so much more — but how many of those did you know about?

According to a recent poll of 150 students, 37 percent didn’t know counselors are available to talk to about emotional issues, not just academic ones.

Many on The Tiger Print newspaper staff were unaware that BV has a school psychologist until the article on sexual assault was written in December 2016. Only through an interview with a fellow student did we learn about such a resource.

In fact, only 43 percent of BV students report knowing that the school offers a psychologist.

This presents a serious issue — if students aren’t aware of the assets the school provides, their opportunity to benefit from said assets is squandered.

First and foremost, the student, who is the main reason these resources exist for, loses.

They lose on the opportunity to talk to a professional who they may not be able to access at home, whether that’s about mental health with a psychologist, their home situation with a social worker, or their struggles with substance abuse with a Crossroads employee during Tiger Paws.

They lose on the chance to feel safe and at home at BV.

Secondly, the school and the district loses. Their goal for making these options available is for the student. But, if the student is ignorant of their existence and are unsure where to turn when they need help, then what’s the point?

Teachers, students and administrators alike want students to be at their best possible mental and physical health — that should begin with distributing the knowledge of the great resources BV provides.

The publication of these resources can be more accessible on BV’s website as well as around the school — perhaps in the form of handouts if a student approaches a teacher about such an issue.

As substance abuse continues to be a problem at BV and as suicide rates rapidly increase — as demonstrated by the recent incidents within the district and among other districts — the necessity of these resources becomes dire.

But, if we begin making those options more accessible, we can treat the problems that exist and prevent problems before they happen.