|
|
 |
|
The views expressed on this page are soley
those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views of County
News Online
|
 |
ODE Extra Credit
The Power of
Partnerships in Meeting the Needs of the Whole Child and Community
Lindy Douglas, Alexander Local Schools
As the superintendent of Alexander Local Schools, I am proud to tell
you about our success providing students with wraparound services.
Wraparound services are additional supports for students that help them
meet their basic needs so they can focus and do well in school. The
wraparound services offered in Alexander include mental health
counseling and health care services. Some people may wonder if mental
and physical health care have a place in school, but I firmly believe
they do.
Alexander Local Schools is located in Athens County. It is a rural,
Appalachian district. All the school buildings are located on a single
campus. Unemployment, poverty and drug addiction affect many families
in our schools. As superintendent, I became aware of the number of
children who needed medical or counseling services. The teachers and I
were running into situations where some children were not receiving
proper medical attention. In many cases, it appeared the parents were
not following through with planned appointments. Even when families
recognized the need for these services, they still had to pull children
out of school and travel to appointments. Parents worried about losing
their jobs as a result of missing work to take their children for
services. Some families did not have transportation or money for gas.
There are many challenges in our community, and I wanted to help
address them. The other educators in my district and I began speaking
with various agencies about how we could help families get the services
and supports they needed. We decided to pilot a wraparound program by
inviting one counselor from Hopewell Health Centers to put an office in
our building for one year. We referred children to this counselor when
they needed deeper, more intense counseling than what the school alone
could offer. We worked with teachers and the counselor to build a
positive rapport and buy-in with the staff, parents and community.
What began as a one-year pilot has grown. Our campus now houses offices
for four different service agencies. Currently, we have Hopewell Health
Centers, Health Recovery Services, Athens County Children Services and
Holzer on our campus. We give them space in our buildings for free so
they can provide their services to the children. We also meet with the
agencies annually to talk about what is working and what needs
improvement. We encourage them to build their clientele in our
community. During the summer months, they can continue using our
facilities.
These services have become a part of our school culture. Counselors are
honorary staff members. They attend staff meetings, parent-teacher
conferences and Intervention Assistance Team meetings. We embrace their
knowledge and expertise. By providing services on our campus, we have
seen improvements in our school and our community. The most significant
improvements have been increased attendance and graduation rates,
reduced behavioral issues and better scores on state tests.
Here are a few other benefits to implementing these programs on campus:
1. Convenient primary care and preventative medical services are
offered to district staff, students and the community.
2. There is increased access to health care providers without the need
to travel to a larger facility.
3. We have streamlined care from a community health and specialty care
perspective. This keeps students in the classroom and student athletes
on the playing field.
4. Students and families have an increased awareness of available
services. Many may not have sought care otherwise.
5. Student athletes receive athletic training support in partnership
with Ohio University.
6. The school’s ability to make direct referrals increases productivity
and improves service agency caseloads.
7. Barriers such as transportation, accessibility and parental time off
work are eliminated.
8. Having agencies on campus increases the attendance rate, and the
agencies are experiencing fewer canceled appointments. Agencies are
working closely with the district to meet insurance billing
requirements.
9. Support agencies report that partnering with the schools in some
situations has helped them improve parental engagement.
10. Being in the school building provides immediate access to
communication with teachers and staff who see the students daily and
often are the first to encounter behavioral issues. This helps the
clinician take a comprehensive approach to treatment. Once a treatment
plan is in place, educators and clinicians can monitor interventions
and assess treatment success.
11. Being part of the school reduces the stigma attached to seeing a
counselor. Clinicians often wear school badges to help them blend in
with school staff.
12. The district has increased the number of professional counselors on
staff.
13. An outside agency can complete risk assessments for children who
make threats. This allows for an immediate intervention.
14. Students receive medical treatment immediately.
15. We are able to provide free sports physicals and a staff doctor for
the football and basketball teams.
The greatest benefit, and the thing that I am most proud of, is that we
are now addressing the whole child. Addressing the whole child allows
children to have necessary supports, enhances wellness and fosters
learning and development. Ohio’s Strategic Plan for Education, Each
Child, Our Future, recognizes how critical it is to meet the basic
needs of the whole child, and we are working hard to do just that.
Thanks to partnerships built within our own community, our small
district is making a big impact on each student and our community.
Lindy Douglas is the superintendent of Alexander Local Schools. She has
a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and master’s degree in
Educational Administration from Ohio University. She has been an
educator for 29 years, working in public schools in Southeastern Ohio
to better the lives of children by increasing their knowledge and
improving their education.
|
|
|
|
