{"id":34197,"date":"2021-07-29T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=34197"},"modified":"2021-07-28T17:49:49","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T22:49:49","slug":"how-one-oklahoma-school-district-is-using-the-states-counselor-corps-to-improve-mental-health-accessibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2021\/07\/29\/how-one-oklahoma-school-district-is-using-the-states-counselor-corps-to-improve-mental-health-accessibility\/","title":{"rendered":"How one Oklahoma school district is using the state\u2019s Counselor Corps to improve mental health accessibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_34201\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34201\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7576-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Robby Korth \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign outside Poteau High School in Poteau, Oklahoma. Poteau Public Schools is beefing up its social-emotional offerings via Oklahoma&#8217;s $35 million Counselor Corps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; height: 170px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 170px;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.captivate.fm\/episode\/12f25ca7-dd33-4125-8c00-a4d68622ae4e\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brenda Dalton knows the ideal way to get kids in Poteau back into the swing of things for learning is to give them mental health support.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe feel like the best thing for our students is for someone to be here on staff who knows our teachers and knows our kids, every day,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why the Poteau Public Schools Student Services Director made a big bet on asking for help via Oklahoma\u2019s Counselor Corps, a $35 million program to hire hundreds of counselors in schools across the state.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She asked the state to partially fund two school counselors, two mental health providers, two districtwide social workers and contract services for mental health as needed. Poteau Public Schools got the money for each position.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In total, the $810,000 Poteau received will last three years.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe identified these needs a long time ago,\u201d Dalton said. \u201cWe just didn&#8217;t have the money to provide for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>How the state\u2019s Counselor Corps will work<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The American School Counselor Association recommends a student-to-counselor ratio of 250-to-1. Oklahoma\u2019s statewide average is currently at 411-to-1. Poteau\u2019s is better than the statewide average at most sites, but still nowhere near where it should be.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOur goal would be to stay under that 250 or right around that 250,\u201d Dalton said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The counselor corps will be made up of 222 school counselors and almost 100 other student well-being workers statewide. The goal: Improve wellness for students around the state. State schools superintendent Joy Hofmeister told educators during a virtual conference last month that the program will lay the foundation for full learning recovery after the pandemic.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf we are to encourage our students to be on track for academic success, we must first take steps and action to wrap supports around the whole child,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like many districts, Poteau is pursuing a tiered approach to mental health services. Misty Haney is a special education teacher in the district and she\u2019s been looking forward to beefing up those wraparound supports.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBeen looking forward to this for a long time,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poteau hired a couple of part-time counselors in January of this year. And she says they\u2019ve already helped students grow at the elementary level. But more counselors at more sites will make things better across the district.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI&#8217;m seeing success,\u201d she said. \u201cI&#8217;m seeing growth in our children. And I think our teachers will see that and feel a little bit of relief.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Finding workers<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The challenge, though, will be filling the positions. There\u2019s a distinct shortage of mental health workers in the state &#8211; especially in eastern Oklahoma. So far Poteau has only filled one of their six jobs. Brittany Hayes is policy director for the non-profit Healthy Minds Policy Initiative. She says there are plenty of\u00a0 mental health workers in the state, but they\u2019re working with adults.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBut I think that as we see the children&#8217;s mental health crisis sort of escalate, a lot of people are going to be moving toward that system,\u201d Hayes said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma has over 800 individuals who are certified to be a mental health professional in school, something like a school psychologist, who are not practicing. That includes about 500 classroom teachers. But, there are administrative requirements and red tape that could hold teachers back from getting the proper license to be a counselor in a school.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cToo often those who aren&#8217;t serving in that role aren&#8217;t serving because the school doesn&#8217;t fund that role,\u201d Hayes said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_34202\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34202\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/07\/IMG_7554-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Robby Korth \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A yearbook and Chamber of Commerce plaque inside Poteau Public Schools&#8217; administration building.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>The future of the Counselor Corps<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The three year window on the grant means the positions will be difficult to fund permanently, Dalton said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that doesn\u2019t mean at the end Poteau will lose all of its support for students, Dalton said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ultimate goal is to demonstrate value and ensure that Poteau\u2019s students continue to get what they need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOnce when people start seeing progress, they get excited about things and you get real creative on how to keep those things going if you know they&#8217;re working. So&#8230; hopefully we&#8217;ll be able to see that kind of progress,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brenda Dalton knows the ideal way to get kids in Poteau back into the swing of things for learning is to give them mental health support.\u201cWe feel like the best thing for our students is for someone to be here on staff who knows our teachers and knows our kids, every day,\u201d she said.That\u2019s why [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":34200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17,23],"tags":[35,855,857,224],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34197"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34197"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34207,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34197\/revisions\/34207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}