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District staff outline stepped supports, suicide‑awareness screening and new tracking platform
Summary
District staff described plans to expand multi-tiered behavioral supports and mental‑health screening after attending a national MTSS conference; the board heard that the district purchased a platform to track interventions and will pilot a signs‑of‑suicide program for grades 6–12.
At a board meeting, district staff described steps to expand multi-tiered behavioral supports and to track interventions for students, saying the district purchased a case‑management platform and is considering a signs‑of‑suicide screening for secondary students. Chris Juarez, identified in the meeting as a district staff member who attended the MTSS conference, described new tools and trainings staff will use to monitor and coordinate student interventions.
The district is rolling out a platform staff called “Beyond SST” that Juarez said will record every intervention a student receives as they progress through Student Study Team (SST) supports and, if needed, to more intensive services. "We've purchased a program called, Beyond SST," Juarez said. He described using the platform alongside existing tools such as ARIES and a new Coordination of Service Team (COST) the district plans to start next week to make referrals to community providers.
Why it matters: centralizing intervention records would let teachers and counselors see what supports a child has already received, district staff said, and a planned suicide‑awareness program would expand mental‑health screening at the secondary level.
Juarez said the conference emphasized matching interventions to behavioral function and tracking single behaviors over time. He described curriculum and training highlights that districts nationwide are emphasizing: tiered behavioral supports, counseling interventions, functional behavior assessments, and trauma‑informed approaches. "There is a program called SOS, which is signs of suicide," Juarez said, adding that the program would be considered for grades 6 through 12. "It is actually a really good program and helps support our students." He said the program's intensity is why the district is limiting consideration to secondary grades.
During public comment, Dr. Cindy Monroy of Freedom School thanked the board for support in developing positive behavior systems and said the school will apply to the Schools to Watch program; she invited trustees and staff to a back‑to‑school night. "I just wanted to take the time as the year kicks off to just show gratitude for the support last year," Dr. Monroy said. "Join us at back to school night on August 19 at 5PM here at Freedom." Dr. Monroy also noted campus changes that reflect PBIS expectations and student‑developed logos.
Board members asked staff whether anything would block implementation; staff said no legal or technical barrier had been identified and that the district already has supports in place. Juarez and other staff framed next steps as training, continuing to build systems, and deploying COST to coordinate referrals.
The discussion was informational; the board did not take a formal vote on adopting the SOS program or mandating use of the Beyond SST platform during the meeting. Staff indicated they will return with implementation details and that COST will begin meeting next week to process referrals and coordinate providers.
District staff emphasized relationships and tier‑one engagement as foundations for the other steps staff described, and said the district will continue data‑driven review of interventions as the school year progresses.
