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Fridley board hears new student recruitment role and reports full staffing for school-based mental health
Summary
The board heard a presentation from new student recruitment and retention specialist Kennedy Johnson about a student belonging initiative and a ROAR 180 support program for student athletes; the superintendent also reported that a new partner, Change Inc., will provide school-based mental health staff at all sites.
The Fridley Public School District board received updates on student recruitment, retention and school-based mental health during Superintendent Dr. Mike Lewis's report.
Kennedy Johnson, the district's student recruitment and retention specialist, presented a "student belonging and data" update focused on four priority areas: academics, athletics, youth engagement and recruitment and retention. Johnson said the role began July 1 and that her summer work produced a welcome letter and recruitment materials for student athletes, a student/family questionnaire and targeted outreach to families.
"The data allows us to pinpoint struggles early, implement focused interventions and measure the impact of programs like the ROAR program," Johnson said, describing the program's emphasis on grades, attendance and personal accountability. Johnson said the ROAR 180 program started the previous Monday and initially enrolled about 10 students; she also said she maintains a check-in list of "10 to 15 students" whom she plans to meet with twice weekly during advisory and lunch. The program will use three tiers of support so students can "cycle out" as they show progress, Johnson said.
Board members asked whether activity or eligibility criteria would be set for participation. Johnson said those details are still being developed and that the district is "open to figuring out how to make that criteria and then grow from there." Rochelle, who presented the district's school-based mental health update earlier in the meeting, added that criteria are difficult to set without commensurate support structures in place.
School-based mental health: Dr. Lewis introduced Rochelle's update and said the district had struggled to staff school-based mental health in past years. Rochelle reported the district has a new partner, Change Inc., which will provide therapists at every site either full time or half time based on school size; an intern will be at Stevenson. "So we are fully staffed," Rochelle said, and added that Change Inc.'s contract with the district ensures "no child will be turned away." She described the partner as having experience with student-centered therapy and innovation.
Why it matters: Johnson's recruitment work targets retention at points when students commonly leave the district (transitions to middle and high school) and focuses on keeping students connected through athletics and activities. The school-based mental health staffing addresses a long-standing operational challenge by placing therapists on campus to reduce access barriers.
What the board asked: A board member asked whether the ROAR 180 program would run at middle school as well; Johnson said the focus now is building the high school model and exploring a middle-school rollout in the spring with middle school Principal Halverson.
Implementation notes: Johnson said the program will track academics and attendance, open lines of communication between coaches and teachers and cycle students every six weeks; Rochelle and Johnson will continue to update the board on program growth and service delivery.
Additional detail: Johnson said outreach had contacted 10 student-athletes and their families as of the prior Wednesday and that the district had gained four transfers who had enrolled in the district. Rochelle said that having therapists on site reduces transportation barriers and that the partnership will allow the district to use multiple funding sources to provide services.
