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Rogers schools report rising homelessness, counseling staff log 531 child-abuse hotline reports
Summary
The Rogers School District presented a counseling and student support update noting growth in students identified as homeless, an increase in child-abuse hotline reports handled by counselors and social workers, and ongoing gaps in school-based mental-health capacity.
Sharon Danes, director of counseling for Rogers School District, told the board on Monday that the counseling department is prioritizing support for students’ academic, emotional and career development.
“Our mission is to prepare and inspire and empower our diverse student population to be the best that they can be in an ever changing world,” Danes said, describing the department’s work across all buildings, including REAP.
The presentation said the district currently employs 17 elementary counselors, 11 middle school counselors and 16 high school counselors. District staff reported they made a total of 531 reports to the child-abuse hotline last year through school counselors and school social workers; that figure excludes hotline calls made by other staff. The district also identified 434 students as homeless as of last week and said it is on track to surpass the 554 families in transition documented for the previous school year.
Danes said school counselors do not provide therapy but are trained to recognize and respond to student mental-health needs. The district employs 10 school social workers who provide “boots-on-the-ground” support, and the presentation said the crisis response team has been mobilized 13 times over the past three years following student or staff deaths or other traumatic events.
The department said it adheres to Act 190, the School Counseling Improvement Act of 2019, which requires districts to develop an annual comprehensive school counseling plan. Danes also told the board the department received a $20,000 mini-grant this year to fund school-based mental-health services for uninsured students.
The presentation identified staffing and service gaps: local partner agencies cannot recruit enough therapists to meet demand, and the district lacks enough alternative therapeutic placements for students who need more intensive, clinical settings.
Danes and other speakers noted a recent local organizing milestone: Rogers staff helped form the first Arkansas chapter of the School Social Workers Association. The presentation named Haley Carson as the social worker at Lingle and identified Grace Hill (transcript: “Grace Hill and Jones”) as the first state president of the new chapter.
Board members thanked Danes and her staff for the work and asked follow-up questions about students living in local motels: Danes said 43 students currently live at an 8th Street motel and that the district is tracking where displaced families may relocate if the property is redeveloped.
The counseling presentation concluded with a call to continue partnerships with transportation and community agencies to ensure McKinney-Vento students can remain in their school of origin.
