Minutes 04-28-2022 School Boards

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9 She said that they also need quantitative information. She said they have been implementing their social and emotional screener to every student for almost three years. She said that the student response rate has increased, and they encourage all students to be open to tell them their social and emotional needs. She said they continue to do additional assessments in the social and emotional engagement, and these determine strengths and opportunities as the district continues to implement SEL. She said that another assessment that has launched is the two solutions in one assessment tool (behavioral threat assessment tool). She said this looks at suicide risk assessment and the behavioral threat assessment. She said both are proven methods to help prevent acts of violence in the schools. She said that it provides the administrators the tools they need to monitor interventions and progress. She said they are currently providing training for all staff related to mental health and safety. She said that this year they launched and innovative learning and training platform designed specifically for their school staff. She said it is web based and self-paced. She said these courses are offered by experts in their fields and complies with the state training requirements. She said that staff has access to the training, and it provides a library of resources. She said that additional training has been provided to address ongoing trends of suicide in teens. She said that in the future they are looking at potentially doing a summer vaccine clinic for middle school and high schoolers. She said that in response to the opioid crisis, they are implementing Narcan training and supplies to all secondary school nurses. She said that they are in the midst of filling the nurse positions for middle and elementary schools and working on an RFP for mental health professionals. She said that May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the theme is awareness, moving forward to acceptance. She said that awareness is not enough, and that the community must take responsibility for all mental health and share resources without judgement. She said that the school support and wellness provides mental health resources for students, staff, and community. Bonnie Hauser said she appreciates the inclusion of mental health in this discussion. She said it has been a tough couple of years and they appreciate the ongoing collaboration with the county. She said relationships are essential to students' success in school. She said that is especially important post-COVID. She said it is challenging to build these relationships when there is a shortage of school staff, after two years of remote learning, distancing requirements, and extensive absences. She said teachers are exhausted from the two years of remote and hybrid learning and are now facing issues being back in person like absenteeism and behavior on top of learning recovery. She said that students are re-learning how to deal with structured routine and a rigorous school day. She said that she is not sure any school district was prepared for the behavioral challenges that would be faced. She said there are many behavioral challenges every day that come from children simply learning how to sit in a seat, show up on time, and participate in class. She said they are daily challenges and that they need help. She said OCS has asked for funds in the budget to increase salaries for certified and classified staff. She said they need to stabilize staff in the schools for the children. She said it will take every employee, not just teachers, to stabilize the social support structure for the students. She said they have worked with Renaissance to provide mental health services, but they are understaffed and overworked. She said they would like to explore working more closely with Orange County Social Services to provide support to students. She said that in North Carolina the ratio of students to social workers is half of the national average. Carrie Doyle said a few of them just came from the My Voice, My Lens exhibit and that the artist involved with that was also working directly with one of the students at Orange County High School. She said this is an example of the ability to foster belonging and inclusion for all their students. She said there have been qualitative and collaborative efforts between the districts to foster mental health. She said there are mental health clubs at all the high schools now. She said some of the soft/cultural things are being done to support mental health and