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SALINEVILLE - Southern Local school officials are seeking ways to develop social-emotional programming to help young students on the elementary level.
Nancy Sakely, a past high school guidance counselor and current teacher at Southern Local Elementary, joined Superintendent Tom Cunningham for a meeting with Ohio Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana) about procuring sustainable funding and resources to provide a social-emotional curriculum for youngsters. Sakely said mental health awareness has grown since COVID occurred and children have not learned coping skills at home. While programs exist for high
"It was starting before COVID, but COVID impacted mental illness because of isolation," she said, adding that students have had issues with self-control, not handling adversity, poor sportsmanship, attention and following directions. "I saw a news story on a program implemented for high school students and how it positively impacted the students they were working with, and I wondered why there wasn't anything for elementary students. We could alleviate a lot of issues at the high school level if we can tackle it at the elementary level."
She reached out to the superintendent and also corresponded with Robb Blasdel about seeking sustainable funding to provide a program for the younger children. One idea is to develop a proactive curriculum for the students during their special time and help them learn to make good choices, thereby decreasing issues as they grow older.
"If we work at the elementary level, we can impact students enough that there would be fewer incidents at the high school level because they will have the tools to help deal with adversity," Sakely added.
At the meeting, she discussed how the program could be implemented, noting that guidance counselors wears many hats and are used differently in every district, so they may not have time to meet with every child. Her hope was to have an instructor on hand to meet with students in groups and individually and to assist with coping skills and age-appropriate supports.
"I want it to be implemented in a way that supports instruction and needs teachers see in the classroom, and most importantly, it supports the students. Maybe it could be included as a special time class, and if there's a need for help the child can be referred. Classroom teachers are not trained in providing this need," she continued. "If they are providing it, it takes away from instruction. I'd like to see it at all schools in Ohio because the state tends to be a leader, and this is another way that Ohio can be a leader. The curriculum is there. It can be implemented quickly with the right supportive bodies to determine age-appropriate lessons. If there's one good outcome, hopefully it's the recognition of a population that needs better served."
Cunningham said Sakely approached him about students' social-emotional well-being and was seeking avenues because school counselors were overloaded. He said schools regularly deal with discipline issues, but agreed the amount has greatly increased since the COVID pandemic.
"Every school has s always had issues and we've definitely seen a rise since COVID with discipline and coping skills. They've just multiplied," he said. "There isn't a lot of mandatory federal or state funding for elementary schools. If we can work with students at an early age with self-esteem and making good decisions, it would benefit them. We met with Rep. Robb Blasdel about funding and she said she was meeting with representatives in Appalachian counties and work with them. She thinks it's a good idea and would like to help us."
Officials looked at some resources including LifeWise, which is an after-school program, but Cunningham said not all students would participate.
"We're looking for something to focus on students during the school day, not just grants but something sustainable for a few years. Our next step is to reach out to local organizations. We're looking for something students can familiarize themselves with and feel more open and comfortable," he concluded. "We want to give our students as many tools as possible to be successful in school as well as adulthood."