In Argyle, Sam Slaton, Argyle ISD board president and a father of two children in the district, lauded the district’s efforts to help students.
“I think this district has done an exemplary job in not only understanding the mental health issues that our kids are facing, but being able to be responsive and proactive, and not reactive,” he said.
Mental health needs have become more prevalent since the pandemic began, and the district has to help students in need as best it can, he said.
Counselors from elementary and secondary campuses gave a presentation at the Argyle ISD board meeting May 15 on services they provide to students, with the elementary counselors discussing how families and staff received a needs assessment survey at the beginning of the year to determine how best to help students. The primary areas parents wanted the district to help students in, based on the survey, were conflict resolution, self confidence, friendship skills and anxiety. At the elementary level, counselors conduct guidance lessons in classrooms involving various skills, such as stress management and coping.
At the middle school level, parents responded to the needs assessment by saying they wanted students to get help with stress management and relationships skills, and guidance lessons also are provided. The Argyle High School counseling program features responsive services, system support, individual planning and guidance curriculum.
Lewisville ISD’s efforts to help students
Monya Crow, executive director of counseling and social work services in Lewisville ISD, said in an email the school district has a “longstanding history” of responding to student needs.
“We as educators are certainly looking for signs that someone might need help,” Crow said. “We know students must have their mental health supported in order to be optimally ready to learn.”
The Texas Model for School Counseling, which LISD uses, was adopted into the Texas Education Agency code in 2017, she said, and the plan outlines not only the role of the school counselor to support students through individual and group counseling opportunities, but it also helps through guidance curriculum with the goal of prevention education.
“Students are taught things like problem-solving skills, conflict resolution and health coping skills, and how to recognize the signs you might need help, to name a few,” Crow said. “Any materials used are on the [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration] registry, and are research and evidence based.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works to improve substance abuse and mental health treatment services for those who are most in need of them, according to usa.gov.
Resources available
LISD officials seek to use as many free programs as they can.
“We also seek to collaborate with our community partners who have information and resources to benefit students and their families,” Crow said.
One free program the district’s students have used is EVERFI, a company that partners with Medical City Healthcare to help students through self-guided, online lessons so they can develop simple, actionable strategies.
Maria Martineau, assistant vice president of community engagement with Medical City Healthcare, said about 3,500 students in LISD have participated in EVERFI. No students in Argyle ISD have used the program yet, according to Kevin Mechenbier, EVERFI regional director of K-12 programs, but because of interest expressed in Argyle, educators will be using it in the fall. The program is targeted for students in grades 8-10, but it can be used for students a little younger or older, Martineau said.
Medical City Healthcare, which is part of Hospital Corporation of America Healthcare, is in year three of a four-year agreement with EVERFI, Martineau said. The program can be found in five North Texas counties: Denton, Collin, Dallas, Parker and Tarrant.
Danyatta Harrell, team lead for mental health and school counseling at Education Service Center Region 11—which serves schools in Argyle and Lewisville as well as other area districts—noted, overall, Region 11 districts are making “great strides” to address student mental health issues.
Relative to local schools, the center provides a number of mental health services, such as support groups for students dealing with anxiety or depression, and community partnerships with local health authorities.
Campus perspective
Cynthia Jones, counselor at Prairie Trail Elementary in Flower Mound, said that counselors help students understand their emotions by “being inclusive and making it clear that they are not alone in experiencing little and big emotions. The tools that are taught are practiced and addressed when modeled correctly to reinforce healthy management of dealing with problems with peers and personally.”
Issues today are critical, at times acute and much greater than in the past, Jones said. Counselors learn about issues going on in children’s homes, social lives, social media and personal insights.
“The role of the counselor has always been rooted in a skill set specific to connecting with students and walking with them through challenging situations,” Crow said. “If there has been any change, it has been to keep in tune with what our students face in today’s world as well as what is important to them.”
