by Mike Knaak
The need for more and a wider range of guidance services was at the top of the list of questions raised during the first listening session organized by the Sartell-St. The new Stephen School District Education Equity and Student Experience Committee.
About 30 people, mostly adults, gathered on the high school’s learning stairs to share their experiences and opinions during the 45-minute session led by Superintendent Jeff Ridlehoover on September 20.
The topic for the session, Student Support Services and Mental Health, was chosen by the committee after its first meeting on September 13.
Student mental health is the number one issue for schools across the country, Ridlehoover said in introducing the topic of the session. The speakers seemed to agree.
Opinions shared by session participants included:
• Counselors need time to interact with students informally, not just in times of crisis. There are three counselors for about 1,400 high school students.
• Counselors are academically oriented by training and deal with testing, academic progress and post-secondary education. Providing mental health therapy is not a goal. Advisors need outside resources. Where do counselors go for help?
• There is a stigma attached to visiting the counseling office. The office is adjacent to the commons / cafeteria and the other students can see who is coming and going.
• How can counselors and other adults make contact with students who are not asking for help and who also have time to follow up and check in with families?
• There is a need for more diverse advisory staff.
• The curriculum needs a mental health component that emphasizes kindness and character and begins with the youngest students.
Summarizing the discussion, Ridlehoover said “we want to support our children when they are in our buildings so they don’t feel alone”.
The formation of the Education Equity and Student Experience Committee was the district’s response to equity concerns following a controversial audit last winter. Although the district ended its relationship with the consultants who conducted the audit, the survey results revealed depression and pressure to excel among affected students.
The committee has 90 members. In forming the committee, district leaders were targeting approximately 50 percent participation of students, 25 percent of staff, and 25 percent of parents / guardians / district residents. Of the more than 180 applications received from district students, staff, parents / guardians and residents, almost 50 were students, leaving less than 50 vacancies for the 130+ adults who applied. Committee members are approximately 50 percent students, 20 percent staff, and 30 percent parents / guardians / district residents.
Committee overviews and notes and information about the listening sessions are available on the District’s Education Equity webpage: www.sartell.k12.mn.us/EducationalEquity.
The next meeting of the Equity Committee will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, October 11. The next listening session will take place on Monday October 18, with a topic determined at the committee meeting on October 11.
