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The Pointe expands in-district services: staff on campus, mental-health support and food bank lease affirmed
Summary
Dwayne Walton, executive director of Parksburg Point, told the Octorara Area School District board the organization now serves about 870 registered youth, places staff at multiple buildings, covers initial mental-health sessions for students and has reaffirmed a lease commitment with the Chester County Food Bank.
Dwayne Walton, executive director of Parksburg Point, told the Octorara Area School District Board of School Directors that The Pointe has grown to 870 registered participants and has placed staff at district campuses to provide mentoring, check-ins and wraparound support for students.
Walton said The Pointe now supports students from second grade through young adults who are in college or trade school, provides scholarships to some postsecondary students and places staff in fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms and in the elementary school. "Every child deserves hope," Walton said, describing The Pointe's work to build relationships that help students overcome non-academic obstacles to learning, from family instability to food needs.
Walton also addressed the Chester County Food Bank, which operates on property owned by The Pointe. He told the board the organization has a lease with the food bank and reaffirmed The Pointe's commitment to host it "as long as they want to be there," saying the community needs the food bank.
Board members asked about how The Pointe's staff might help address truancy and mental-health needs. Walton said The Pointe pays for up to the first 10 mental-health sessions for students through partner providers, and that transportation and scheduling are ongoing challenges. Walton described targeted check-ins The Pointe staff run with students and said he would welcome the district identifying students who might benefit from additional outreach.
School administrators who spoke later in the meeting credited the partnership with improving connections to students and noted the board recently approved hiring one of The Pointe's employees as a district instructional assistant. Administrators said the presence of The Pointe staff ' in some cases former district students ' can open lines of communication with young people that are sometimes harder for classroom teachers to create.
Walton also described non-school activities and exchanges, including student trips and visiting speakers, as part of The Pointe's programming; he said students who traveled to a reservation in Montana returned with new perspectives. Walton and district staff asked the board to consider future presentations about the Montana trip.
The presentation was informational; no formal board action was required at the meeting.
