By Barbara Augsdorfer, Editor for the Effingham Herald
New school year, new teacher, new classes, and new expectations could be overwhelming to some students and maybe their families. School counselors and district social workers are ready to let students and their families know they are supported and everything is eventually going to be okay.
Two of Effingham County School District’s social-emotional-learning staff members updated the school board at its July 18 meeting on what counseling and social worker staff have ready for the 2024-2025 school year.
Each elementary school will have two counselors and each high school will have four. The extra staff was approved by the school board last year to make sure students get the support they need; and to support the counselors in their work. For example, Kate Keith recalled when she was at Effingham College and Career Academy and had received 70 letters of recommendation by October.
“They’re super-smart kids, but (their families) had financial needs,” Keith said. “So, by your adding that second person, we’re providing that support for those kids.
“And I just want to thank you for my job,” Keith added. “I know when I was in the field, I would have loved to have had somebody to call; and I'm not their evaluator. They can call me and we can be very honest and truthful about the situations. I think that it's been a huge support for the counselors as well.”
Keith listed several levels of interactions school counselors and social workers had with students in 2023-2024:
· 16,156 individual counseling sessions
· 628 small-group counseling sessions (a variety of topics, including study skills)
· 3,510 classroom guidance sessions
· 274 handle-with-care reports
· 323.5 scheduled pup (therapy dog) support
· 34 community service activities
· 14 clubs sponsored
· 49 fewer incidents of suicidal ideation since 2022-2023, and
· 80 fewer incidents of self-harm since 2022-2023
Keith explained “handle with care” is an agreement the district has with local law enforcement. When the counselors are notified by law enforcement that something traumatic may have happened within the child’s family during non-school hours, and the child may be falling asleep in class or having behavioral issues, the “handle with care” protocol will help the child feel loved and secure and helped through any issues.
The school district increased the number of social workers on staff this year as well.
“The additional social workers -- which we greatly appreciate – are going to do all the follow-up care with the kids in crisis to make sure the wraparound services are there; to make sure that they're getting in to see people,” Keith added saying the wraparound services social workers provide is aimed to continue reducing the number of self-harm ideation. “One is too many,” Keith said.
To learn what mental health looks like before a crisis, Keith shared that 111 teachers and administrators have been trained in “Mental Health First Aid” – a free one-day course geared toward non-healthcare professionals. Feedback has been positive, Keith said. “So, if we can get that intervention in place early, hopefully, they never hit crisis mode.”
For 2024-2025, Keith told the school board that they plan to increase classroom guidance- and small-group counseling, adding that she wants to flip from being reactive to preventative counseling.
Dr. Jackie Brown-Pinkney gave a quick rundown of the social worker staff and that each school has a social worker to provide necessary wraparound services.
Wraparound services aim to remove “those barriers so that those students can come to school ready to learn,” Brown-Pinkney said. “Because we all know that a student is not thinking about math or a test if they're worried about where they lay their head at night; if they're worried about their parent losing their job; or domestic violence in the home.”
Dr. Brown-Pinkney highlighted for the board some of those wraparound services, such as 2,428 economic aid support given last year. “That is where there are families who have lost their homes, and we are helping them to find housing or getting them into a shelter. There are families whose water or lights have been turned off and we're working with churches and other organizations to help them keep those lights and water on,” Dr. Brown-Pinkney explained.
Both Keith and Brown-Pinkney are confident with the additional staff they can do more than being reactive – running around and “putting out fires”; to be more proactive and providing interventions and services before a student reaches crisis mode.
The important element for both women is making sure students show up every day for school. Brown-Pinkney added the social workers will work with attendance officers, and will strengthen their outreach to parents and guardians to make sure they are involved with the school and their child’s education.
The First Day of School is Aug. 8.
