Perryton ISD wellness committee reviews mental-health curriculum options, student screenings and support services

PERRYTON, Texas — Perryton ISD’s wellness committee met to review how district campuses are meeting recent state guidance on character and mental-health programs, share nursing and counseling activity reports, and discuss curriculum and student-support initiatives the district plans to pursue next year.

Committee chair (unnamed) opened the meeting by summarizing the group’s role and schedule, saying, “We meet twice a year because we DOI, so we can only Agree. Meet twice, like, 4 times a year. So it's just a committee that promote healthy lifestyles with food, nutrition, physical activity, mental health awareness.” The chair framed the meeting as a review of minutes and updates from district services.

The meeting matters because the committee oversees the district’s wellness policy and makes recommendations to the school board on curricula and programs that affect student mental and physical health across elementary, junior high and high school campuses.

Nursing and health-screening updates: Casey Sargent, a school nurse who was unable to attend in person, provided a written nursing report that committee members read aloud. The report notes completion of vision, hearing and spinal screenings across campuses and that kindergarten classes received hand-washing and cough-etiquette training. Dental services visited Kinder (47 students) and Wright (close to 200 students), and staff continued vaccine efforts and offered flu vaccines to employees. The report also stated employees had a spring wellness program with 57 employees signed up.

Counseling and social-emotional learning: Lacey Thomas, a counselor serving kindergarten and Perryton Junior High, described grade-level guidance lessons emphasizing coping strategies, growth mindset, self-regulation and self-control; she said kindergarten lessons include snacks in the afternoon to support healthy diets and that students have access to free online therapy. Thomas said junior-high lessons focused on test anxiety, then self-esteem and healthy relationships in later months.

Brooke Veil, junior-high staff, described Red Ribbon Week activities and daily classroom discussions tied to short videos about celebrities’ “natural high” and the importance of staying drug free. Kendra Habather, who works at the Roddick campus, summarized monthly guidance themes (empathy, perseverance, honesty) and noted third graders are preparing for the fitness gram and PACER test.

Curriculum options and a proposed pilot: High-school counseling staff reported the high school currently uses Suite360, which the counselor said is largely video-based and not sufficiently interactive for the campus’s needs. The counselor explained a district staff member, Miss Hale, introduced a platform called Lenny Learning that offers AI-assisted, customizable lesson plans and a grant opportunity. The counselor said the district has applied for the grant and, if funded, would pilot a daily 30-minute period next year for lessons delivered via Google Classroom with teacher facilitation. The counselor said, “they use AI, and you can type in anything that you want your students to learn, and it will come up with a lesson plan… it's very interactive.”

Student supports and extracurricular initiatives: Committee members reviewed ongoing supports including a Ranger Care closet stocked with clothing and hygiene supplies, a snack/meal kit program (restocked monthly and described as “right around 250” items when restocked), and a high-school snack pack program established this year. Staff reported using donations and FCCLA fundraisers to help finance supplies and food. The committee also discussed a therapy-dog program: staff said Matt visits campuses weekly and that they are coordinating with his owner, Randy, on incentives for high-need students.

Sensitive-topic lessons and parental review: Staff recounted a recent teen-dating-violence module that used videos and allowed parents to screen the material before students viewed it; the counselor described several parents who requested to review the materials and said those requests were accommodated.

Wellness policy submission and logistics: The committee consolidated campus wellness checklists into a single wellness policy form to submit to the state and discussed marking the policy as updated annually. Members noted some required response fields (for example, participation in specific fresh-fruits-and-vegetables programs) remain variable across campuses and will be submitted as reported.

Other items and community referrals: Members mentioned a pilot pregnancy-support curriculum being tested at another campus by Nicole Huddleston; the committee discussed whether health classes might review that pilot. The group also said the district does not routinely ask about student pregnancy based on rumors and instead waits for students to self-identify before offering supports; no district-wide count of pregnant students was provided during the meeting.

The committee ended the meeting after routine thanks to volunteers and staff. Several members praised the work of volunteers and staff who manage the Ranger Care closet and other student supports.