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Midway ISD reports expanded staff counseling, hunger program growth and SHAC recommendations
Summary
District student‑support staff told trustees they expanded staff counseling, distributed nearly 13,000 hunger‑free food bags this year, strengthened McKinney‑Vento support and advanced SHAC work on cell‑phone guidance.
Midway ISD’s student‑support services team told the board the district expanded mental‑health and family support during 2024–25, including the first year of an on‑site staff counselor, growth in hunger‑relief distributions, and continued partnerships for substance‑use counseling and high‑level behavioral health services.
"She provided 317 counseling appointments with staff this year," Anne Marie (staff member) said of the district’s new staff counselor, Kristen Arterberry, describing the role as a flexible, confidential resource for employees and a connector to community resources. Anne Marie said the staff‑counselor role included supervision, direct support for employees in crisis, and help linking staff to housing and family resources when needed.
Anne Marie also reported the school hunger program distributed roughly 12,000 to almost 13,000 bags of food this year (more than 13,000 when holiday boxes are included). A district fundraising challenge on the 100th day of school raised about $18,000 for hunger‑free operations; individual campus drives such as a coin challenge raised thousands for single campuses.
Officials summarized other student‑support work: McKinney‑Vento (homeless) referrals and services rose districtwide; the district provided pregnancy‑related services to five pregnant students and support to eight total students in that program; the district continued a partnership with Baylor for a counseling internship program that delivers substance‑use education and counseling, including summer services; and Communities in Schools and district mentors delivered targeted transition plans and mentoring for at‑risk students returning from discipline placements.
Anne Marie presented the School Health Advisory Council’s (SHAC) year‑long work on health, counseling and cell‑phone policy. SHAC met four times with 30–35 members on average, reviewed parent/staff surveys and recommended a cell‑phone expectation model (referred to by members as sample B) that varies by grade band and limits phone use during instruction.
Ending: Trustees thanked staff and community partners and asked for continued updates; staff said they plan to sustain counseling and hunger‑relief efforts and will return with SHAC‑related proposals for board consideration, subject to any legislative action.
