Student Wellness & Academic Support

Student wellness and academic support services provide comprehensive support to assist all students in maximizing academic achievement. These services are delivered by school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, Student Assistance Program (SAP) counselors, interventionists, and community partner agencies.

Parents may contact their child’s school for additional information on the student support services offered. Parents may also contact the CMS Student Wellness & Academic Support department with questions or concerns at 980-343-2383.

School Counseling

The fundamental role of school counselors is to implement comprehensive school counseling programs that improve student outcomes in the areas of academic achievement, student wellness, and college and career readiness. Counselors work collaboratively to lead, advocate, and promote equity and access for all students by connecting their comprehensive program with their school’s and district’s mission to foster a positive learning environment and support student growth.

Through a comprehensive school counseling program, school counselors:

• Advise students, parents and staff on topics related to academic success
• Assist students in selecting appropriate courses to support their educational and career goals
• Provide brief solution-focused counseling (4-8 sessions) to students, individually and in groups, on normal developmental issues
• Facilitate core classroom lessons that aim to prevent issues and teach students skills that support academic achievement, student wellness, and college and career readiness, including district-mandated franchised lessons which increases equity across schools
• Help students transition from different grade levels and advise them through the college admissions process
• Assist students and parents with attendance and behavioral concerns
• Facilitate parent-teacher communication as necessary
• Serve as liaisons and support to connect students, parents and staff with community resources and opportunities
• Serve as student advocates in the educational setting
• Appropriately advise students based on comprehensive academic data review, including local and state assessments
• Assist with and respond to students and families in crisis
• Provide prevention and intervention strategies to promote student success
• Complete suicide and mental health assessments and link families with appropriate community resources

School Psychological Services

School psychologists are mental health professionals who specialize in child development, the psychology of learning and behavior, curriculum and instruction, and skills in mental health and educational interventions. School psychologists are licensed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and some may be recognized by the National Association of School Psychologists as Nationally Certified School Psychologists (NCSP).

School Psychologists:

• Assist school teams in selecting evidence-based interventions that align with the intensive needs of the student
• Support regular progress monitoring and data reviews, including reviews of treatment integrity
• Collaborate with parents and school teams to analyze growth rates & norms compared to individual student data to determine the need for specialized instruction
• Serve as a resource regarding evidence-based instructional and behavioral/mental health supports for typical child development
• Facilitate communication and collaboration with students, school personnel, community professionals, agencies, families and schools
• Work to help create healthy learning environments that promote optimal teaching and learning environments
• Incorporate their understanding of the influence of culture, background, and individual learning characteristics when designing and implementing interventions to achieve learning and behavioral outcomes
• May provide direct counseling and indirect interventions through consultation for students with mental health problems that impede academic learning and/or social skills learning
• Complete suicide risk assessments and mental health screenings assessments and link families with appropriate community resources
• Help create linkages between schools, families, and community agencies to ensure coordinated services when multiple agencies or service providers are involved
• Conduct evaluations to help identify unique cognitive, emotional, behavioral and academic strengths and deficiencies

School Social Work Services

School social workers ensure that students and families have equitable access to resources and support through their advocacy efforts. School social workers provide services in four core service areas: assessments, dropout prevention (attendance and truancy), crisis interventions, and services to McKinney-Vento (homeless) students. Additionally, school social workers support student wellness initiatives and are a critical part of the MTSS team.

School Social Workers:

• Link students and families with school-based services and critical community services
• Provide individual and small-group counseling and behavioral interventions to students
• Complete social histories for students being referred for evaluation for Exceptional Children (EC) services and continuing to receive EC services
• Provide counseling as a related service support for students with EC services
• Assist teachers, administrators and parents with the development of appropriate educational and intervention plans for students
• Complete suicide and mental health assessments and link families with appropriate community resources
• Conduct home visits to assess individual student and family needs, address attendance and truancy concerns, and respond to student, family and school community concerns
• Coordinate crisis services for students and families and serve as a liaison between the home, school and community
• Coordinate and implement truancy intervention programs; refer cases to CMS Student Services Department for prosecution as needed
• Provide case management services and social work services to McKinney-Vento students and their families
• Collaborate with many community agency partners to respond to a broad range of student and family needs that impact academic achievement and successful adjustment to school
• Consult and collaborate with school administrators, teachers and school-based teams to assess student needs and develop intervention plans and provide support services to students

Substance Abuse Services

All schools have access to substance abuse prevention and intervention services from a qualified Student Assistance Program (SAP) counselor who:

• Provides short-term evidence-based substance abuse counseling and substance use disorder screening to students
• Provides referral services for students and families whose needs are beyond what can be addressed in the school setting
• Collaborates with schools to promote substance awareness and safety, and school staff member knowledge of current drug trends
• Assists schools in identifying evidence-based prevention programs and presentations for use with student, staff, and parent groups
• Consults with parents and staff about individual students with known or suspected substance use challenges

Parents often wonder where they can receive assistance if they suspect that their child is using marijuana, prescription drugs, alcohol, or other substances. With written parent consent, the Student Assistance Program counselor can conduct a screening and assessment, can offer information about community resources, can provide psycho-education, and brief counseling services when appropriate. Student Assistance Program counselors also work with students and their families when there is a violation of the district’s Code of Conduct related to drug and alcohol usage and possession (Rule 28).

All Student Assistance Program counselor records are maintained separately for confidentiality purposes. The Student Assistance Program cannot administer any form of drug testing nor can they divulge whether a student has disclosed substance use.

To reach the Student Assistance Program counselor assigned to your child’s school, please call the CMS Mental Health Program Manager, Dr. Letanya Love, at (980) 343-2658.

School-Based Mental Health Program:

In collaboration with community mental health providers, many CMS schools have therapists available on campus to provide outpatient mental health therapy for students in need of treatment. A member of the school’s student services team must refer students for these services, and parental consent and participation is required. Generally, services are funded by student’s medical insurance but limited financial assistance is available.

To inquire about this service, please contact your school counselor or call the CMS Mental Health Program Manager, Dr. Letanya Love, at (980) 343-2658.

HOUSING EMERGENCIES

McKinney-Vento Program

Overview and Support

At times, students’ families may experience housing emergencies or crises. Services are available for students whose families are experiencing a housing crisis and lack fixed, regular and adequate overnight accommodations.

Who is considered Homeless:

• Living with a friend, relative or someone else due to loss of housing due to economic hardship or a similar reason.
• Living in motels, hotels, cars, parks, public spaces, bus or train stations, substandard housing, trailer parks or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations
• Living in emergency, transitional or domestic violence shelters
• Unaccompanied youth including any youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian, such as runaways.
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above

Please contact the McKinney-Vento liaison, social worker, or other support staff member at your child’s school for information regarding support available for your child.

If your child is not in school, or if you have any other questions, you may contact Sonia Jenkins, the CMS McKinney-Vento manager at (980) 343-1077 or email the MCV department at mcv@cms.k12.nc.us.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act, (ESSA), is the primary piece of federal legislation dealing with the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness.

Subtitle B of Title VI of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act defines “homeless” as follows:

The term “homeless children and youths” –

A. means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the meaning of section 103(a)(1))

B. includes –

• children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals
• children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (within the meaning of section 103(a)(2)(C))
• children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings d.
• migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii)