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"Safe Schools/Healthy Students"
Remerton, Washington
| Partners: | Olympic Educational Service District (OESD) 114 Kitsap, Jefferson, Peninsula & West End Mental Health Services and Behavioral Health Resources Coalition of Nine County and Community Law Enforcement Agencies | |
A total of 55,000 students from urban, suburban, and rural communities and school districts will be served by the OESD SS/HS program. This is a very diverse region, ranging from fast-growing counties to remote, isolated, and economically-depressed rural communities. There is a large population of at-risk youth throughout the region, threatened by poverty, family dysfunction, unemployment, and a high rate of juvenile crime. Substance abuse and academic failure are also prevalent. Kitsap County is an urban region with a large, decaying inner city. It is comprised of 38 elementary and 21 secondary schools. Clallam County includes the region's most remote schools districts with 10 elementary and 11 secondary schools. Jefferson and Mason Counties together house seven elementary and seven secondary schools. Kitsap County has the largest and most diverse population; the remaining three have a smaller minority population, but a higher proportion of Native Americans when compared to other areas in the state. There are seven tribal communities in the region and an estimated 2,300 students attending local schools. The consortium identified four key problems to be addressed: failure to respond to traumatic incidences, disconnected prevention and early intervention services, lack of resources to assist youth involved in violence, and the absence of proactive mental health services. Access to mental health services is inadequate.
The Olympic Educational Service District #114 (OESD) represents a consortium of 15 local school districts, five county mental health agencies, four county sheriff's departments, and five local police departments. The consortium of agencies will implement comprehensive services pre-K-12 to foster the development of social skills, emotional resilience, and substance abuse resistance skills.
OESD offers birth through kindergarten services through Special Education Departments, Head Start, and an Early Childhood Education Assistance Program. These services will be expanded and enhanced. Prevention and intervention specialists provide student assistance programs at the middle and high school level. Additional resources are needed to expand these programs and to support intensive assistance and life skills for children and their parents at the elementary school level. Mental health therapists will be assigned to serve schools, and the OESD will contract with local community mental health agencies to deliver key mental health services. Multisystemic therapy will be delivered to students who have been identified as in need of intensive services. Safe school policies will continue to be implemented and reinforced through the activities of the Regional Crisis Response Team. Proposed strategies for educational reform include professional development and training that entails classroom management; crisis planning and preparedness; violence, alcohol, and other drug prevention curriculum; and discipline. The major emphasis of school security measures is assisting schools in critical incidents response and debriefing, and the development of a fully-trained and diverse crisis response team.
The OESD SS/HS program will be evaluated by Praxis Research.
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[Hamlin, West Virginia]