Eastchester district details counseling, safety and social‑emotional programs and proposes student outreach center

At a board work session, district officials described recent and planned expansions of counseling, safety and social‑emotional learning (SEL) programs across the EASTCHESTER UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

District Assistant to the Superintendent Bill Meyer and members of the counseling, health and psychology staffs reviewed work that followed an 18‑month Tri‑States consultancy, described K–12 implementation of Aaron’s Law requirements, summarized the district’s RULER program, and highlighted peer mentoring at the elementary level. Staff also described early planning for a proposed student outreach and research center to coordinate clinical services, curriculum innovation and external partnerships.

The Tri‑States follow‑up led the high school counseling department to create a two‑year action plan and to change several practices, Heather Riley, chair of the high‑school counseling department, told the board. The department moved from counselor‑specific Google Classrooms to grade‑level classrooms “so all students are receiving the same information on the same day,” Riley said. Counselors also revised transition supports for incoming ninth graders and added three counselors this year; Riley named “Adrianna, Liz, and Jacqueline” as new staff additions. The…