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Mount Lebanon reviews student services: gifted, 504, ESL, counseling and school-based mental health plans
Summary
The district reviewed a student-services program report that showed increases in gifted, Section 504 and ESL services over the past decade, described counseling-staffing ratios and expansion of school-based mental health services, and proposed communication, training and program improvements to be included in the strategic plan.
Mount Lebanon School District staff presented a student-services program review covering gifted education, Section 504 accommodations, English-language learner services, school counseling and school-based mental-health services.
The presentation said the share of students identified for gifted services rose from 4.6% in 2014 to 5.5% in 2025, an increase of 58 students over ten years. Section 504 plans now cover 8.1% of students, an increase that the administration quantified as 333 more students than a decade earlier. English-language learner services were listed at 5.6% of the student body, roughly 12 more students than ten years ago.
The district reported program highlights: universal screening for gifted at third grade, a matrix of gifted services across grade bands, both enrichment and acceleration options, and twice-exceptional training for staff and families. For 504 implementation, staff said evaluations and accommodations are provided in a timely fashion across K–12. For ELL services the district contracts with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, uses Title 3 funding for professional development and summer learning scholarships, and monitors entry and exit via state requirements.
On counseling, the presentation compared building-level counselor staffing to ASCA benchmarks and said the district is close to the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ratio in most buildings; the presenter noted ASCA’s national average of 415 students per counselor for 2021–22 and emphasized building-level goals across personal, social, career and academic domains.
The district described expansion of school-based mental-health services in partnership with the Bradley Center: 47 current students actively receiving services, 11 discharged, and 13 referrals in process. The presentation said all 10 schools are licensed as satellite locations and that the Bradley Center provides roughly 1.5 full-time-equivalent licensed counselors that travel between buildings; the contractor is recruiting additional staff to match student needs.
Related services (occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language support and social work) are provided through contracts with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and the Bradley Center, and the district reported counts of students receiving services across those categories. Transportation was noted to be in year one of a three-year contract with First Student; the district highlighted a parent-facing vehicle-tracking app as a contract benefit.
Next steps the district proposed include improving and translating communications for families, creating FAQs and monthly newsletters, expanding professional development (IEP writing, Section 504 implementation, de-escalation training), continuing to develop Wilson reading-system certification, reviewing and implementing SEL curriculum K–12, expanding school-based mental health contingent on staffing, and evaluating acceleration and in-school enrichment options for gifted students. The administration said these items will be folded into the district’s strategic plan and brought forward across multiple years; no formal board actions were taken on program changes at this meeting.
