Mental health matters at CFSD

CFSD has paid close attention to the counseling departments at all schools in the past several years, embarking on a curriculum review for the entire program beginning in 2017. Incumbent Board member Amy Bhola spearheaded the Board’s request for the District to review the counseling program in an effort to improve our counselors’ ability to support student needs, most specifically at the high school level to support our students’ college ambitions. District administration was responsive to the Board’s request and then some, pulling off a complete transformation of our counseling services centered around:

• Academic Development – Activities that support each student’s ability to learn and to attain requirements for graduation and postsecondary pathways.

• Social/Emotional Development – Interventions that help students manage emotions and learn and apply interpersonal skills in a safe, inclusive environment.

• Career Development – Helping students understand their strengths and challenges to establish tentative career and educational goals; understand the connection between school and the world of work; and plan for the successful transition from school to post-secondary endeavors.

Even more recently, the Board passed a 2019 student-initiated resolution calling for an increase in mental health support. Shortly thereafter, COVID-19 contributed to an alarming concern for students’ mental health as well as teacher burnout. As a result of this resolution and the earlier comprehensive review, CFSD has increased the number of counselors at all school levels in the past few years and approved of a new counseling curriculum that focuses on proactive engagement with students at all grade levels.

The sole motivation of our District’s counseling department is to provide all students –regardless of their race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age or disability – with the opportunity for optimum development.

Support of a student’s many needs may sometimes call for the referral of our students to outside organizations who may specialize in the challenges individual students face. Our high school’s counseling website includes links to many outside resources. These are in full view for any parent to look over, and are beneficial for both parents and students. Please note that when we link to another organization’s website, users are always prominently notified that they are leaving CFSD’s website and entering the site of another organization and that we are not responsible for that organization’s privacy and security policies.

As hopeful Board members, we are committed to engaging with our community to understand what additional support is needed and then working with colleagues and administration to identify specific ways we can expand mental health support for both students and teachers in the entire district.