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Board reviews strategic-plan goal on well-being and belonging; district begins Care Solace mental‑health referral partnership
Summary
Trustees received a multi-part presentation on the district strategic plan goal for well‑being and belonging, including elementary and secondary SEL screening, staff professional development, counseling program alignment under state law and a new partnership with Care Solace to speed mental‑health referrals.
The Snoqualmie Valley School District board spent an extended portion of its Feb. 13 meeting on Goal 3 of the strategic plan — student well‑being, belonging and culturally responsive practice — hearing program updates and data from elementary and secondary leads.
Jessica Ackley, program specialist for elementary behavior, told the board the district administered the Sabers SEL screener in spring 2024 and again in the fall. Teacher-reported data showed higher percentages of students not meeting benchmarks in emotional behavior (recognizing and regulating emotions), while students’ self‑reports emphasized academic behavior. Ackley said the district is using those results to prioritize professional development for teachers rather than immediately purchasing new instructional materials.
“We used this data to identify the need and then chose to invest in teacher professional development so staff feel equipped to support students in these skill areas,” Ackley said.
At the secondary level staff reported tier‑1 SEL lessons are occurring (through advisory, enrichment or classroom integration) and that middle and high schools are piloting the MySabers student self‑report this year. Secondary leaders emphasized integrating SEL into academic content — for example, using literature character discussion as a low‑threat way to practice social‑emotional skills.
Counseling leadership described work to refine a comprehensive K–12 school counseling plan to align with state guidance tied to Senate Bill 5030 and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) model. The counselors have engaged in a multi‑year professional development and coaching cycle to operationalize the plan, build scheduling and accountability practices, and prepare stakeholder presentations that will include building goals and evidence of outcomes.
On mental‑health coordination, the district announced a new partnership with Care Solace, a third‑party care‑coordination service. The vendor will provide 24/7 referral support to connect students, staff and staff family members to mental‑health providers who accept a family’s insurance or Medicaid. District social‑work staff said the service will reduce the time counselors and social workers now spend trying to identify in‑network providers and will allow staff to focus more on direct services.
“We are starting this partnership almost immediately,” a social‑work presenter said. “Training will begin for ESA staff during break, with referrals expected to start late February or early March.”
Presenters also described district investments in professional development: districtwide Conscious Discipline and SafetyCare basics training, cohorts for deeper Conscious Discipline work, and targeted sessions for WIN teachers, paras, nurses and preschool staff. The district is planning parent engagement (Parent University) and a single coordinated survey instrument to gather student, staff and family feedback without duplicative surveying.
District leaders said they are in the process of hiring an additional school social worker to expand tier‑2 and crisis services and that a community resource fair held recently connected school staff to about a dozen local providers, including Charlie Health and other partners.
Board members commented in support of the work and emphasized the link between students’ sense of safety/belonging and academic learning. No board action was taken; the presentation was informational.
