District details expanded mental-health supports, behavior framework and alternative programs

Scottsbluff Public Schools staff told the board the district is expanding mental-health supports and formalizing behavior-management systems as part of Strategic Priority 2: student and staff well-being.

District presenters described new hires and programs, pointed to falling suicide-risk assessment counts compared with previous years, and outlined a behavior framework, staff training and alternative-program expansions intended to keep students in school and provide earlier intervention.

Dr. Kimlin (staff presenter) introduced the strategic-priority update and framed the priority as an effort to improve coping, learning and workforce well-being across the district. Ada Walsh, the district behavior coordinator, described the districtwide use of Behavior Advantage, a web-based platform for functional behavior assessments and behavior-intervention plans; she reported about 83 students are supported in Behavior Advantage and provided a school-by-school breakdown: 29 at Bluffs Middle School (including Scottsbluff Plus), 16 at Scottsbluff High School, 15 at Lincoln Heights (including PAWS students), 7 at Longfellow, 6 at Roosevelt and 18 at Westmore.

Terry Fisher Eanes, director of mental health and a licensed mental-health…