Student stress and teacher burnout have reached crisis levels in Canadian schools. Yet schools often lack evidence-based, scalable solutions to respond effectively. A gap this year’s summit is designed to address.
Dr. Gina Cherkowski, conference chair of the 2026 Mental Health Summit, says the event was created to bring together educators, researchers and other stakeholders to address the rapidly increasing mental health challenges that are becoming visible in the school system.
“Classrooms are increasingly complex,” says Cherkowski. “We’re seeing a lot more teacher stress and burnout. We’re seeing a lot of anxiety for students. Increased stress. Increased complexity.”
The Summit is a call to action. It creates space for educators, researchers, mental health professionals and leaders to recharge, connect and reimagine what it means to build mentally healthy schools.
Translating Research into Practice
Cherkowski says the Summit was designed as a practical forum rather than a purely academic one, with an emphasis on translating research into actions that can be implemented within school systems. The Summit is in its third year and has added a research forum stream to address a persistent gap between research and application in the schools. “Actioning research to practice can be a barrier and impact getting supports into schools,” she says.
The goal is to accelerate decision-making by bringing researchers, teachers, principals and superintendents together and allowing school leaders to access evidence-based strategies more quickly. “We’re trying to get things done faster, provide the right people to support the teachers, to support the superintendents and principals, to support the kiddos,” says Cherkowski.
Growing Demand for Action
The Summit was launched initially as a test to gauge public interest with about 300 people attending the first year. That was a signal to organizers that there was demand for a national conversation to address the growing mental health challenges in schools.
According to Cherkowski, young people facing mental health challenges are a greater concern now than in the past, influenced by shifts in society, technology and education.
She points to broader conversations about technology, student disengagement and anxiety as contributing factors that school systems must now contend with operationally.
Importance of Early Intervention
Cherkowski says early intervention inside schools is critical and many mental health challenges emerge during adolescence. “We know statistically, [about] 50% of mental health cases start when somebody is 14 years old and 75% by [age] 25,” she says. [Source: Mental Health Commission of Canada]
Schools are uniquely positioned to provide help in areas such as social-emotional learning, emotional intelligence and prosocial skills. Cherkowski says failing to address youth mental health has long-term consequences for society and institutions.
“Globally, the number one cause of disability is mental health.” According to Cherkowski, studies indicate that providing early, preventative support can lessen the chances of people experiencing more serious mental health issues as they grow older, which in turn helps reduce the strain on health and social systems. “I think not doing something will definitely continue the trend we’re on.”
Community and Collaborative Solutions
“It takes a community.” The intention was to create a space where all stakeholders could come together to share concerns and think about solutions with an action-oriented focus to affect change. Cherkowski adds, “School is one of the best ways that we can have intervention and support for all kids everywhere.”
