The District 118 Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a $15,000 contract with It's In Your Head LLC to provide weekly social-emotional support services at Kennedy Bailey Academy for the 2025–26 school year, district staff said. The contract will be funded with Title I (Every Student Succeeds Act) funds and includes 28 sessions over the year and both building-wide classroom lessons and referral-based small-group pullouts.

Mitzi Campbell, principal at Kennedy Bailey Academy, told the board the program supports the school’s “wraparound” approach and helps students with self-regulation and emotional skills. “We are hoping to create better versions of them and give them tools so that they can make good decisions going forward,” Campbell said.

Hunter Lafave, owner of It's In Your Head, described weekly lessons and occasional small-group pullouts he leads with staff referrals. “We come in and work with the kids, teaching lessons on how to take care of themselves and understand their emotions and how to regulate themselves down so they don't overreact,” Lafave told the board.

Campbell said the program’s building-wide lessons do not require parental permission, but small-group sessions are referral based and require permission slips. She told board members the program will serve grades 5–12 at KDBA and that Title I eligibility for the district allows use of Title funding for the program so it will not come from the school’s building budget.

One board member said they had discussed Title I funding with a colleague and emphasized their preference for research-based curriculum; the board member said they would vote yes but wanted the record to show their interest in prioritizing evidence-based academic interventions. Board members also asked about how the program coordinates with teachers; Lafave said he and staff perform classroom “push-ins” and consult with teachers so lessons continue when he is not present.

The motion to approve the contract carried by roll call vote, 7–0.