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Connetquot expands mental-health supports; district partners with Northwell for urgent behavioral services
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Summary
Student services described a district mental-health framework, data on counseling demand, a new partnership with Northwell replacing PM Pediatrics for same-day behavioral health access, and student leadership and prevention initiatives.
District student services presented a comprehensive mental-health strategy that includes in-school counseling, a district-wide mental-health advisory council, community partnerships and prevention programming, and an expanded outpatient partnership with Northwell Health.
The presenter said social workers reported that roughly 40% of students were seen for counseling support during the 2024-25 school year (not including school psychologists and counselors' case loads). She said 67 students required higher-level intervention districtwide, that last year 18 students were hospitalized for behavioral-health reasons and that, by the end of the first month of the new school year, Northwell had provided services to 27 students.
Student services described Northwell services as same-day behavioral health access at a Northwell behavioral health center, psychiatric assessment, care coordination and linkage to ongoing counseling; families may also connect directly to Northwell independent of a school referral. The district said Northwell will provide school consultations, professional development for staff, and a virtual parent workshop titled "Creating Healthy Digital Boundaries." The board was told a monthly Northwell report will be shared with the district.
The presentation also covered prevention work: a bullying-prevention action plan, a Long Island Coalition Against Bullying (LICAB) student-ambassador program (24 student ambassadors), expanded mental-health literacy instruction K-12, community wellness day (about 700 participants), and a new student cohort (Cohen Strong Mental Health) that will advocate for student wellness and attend Mental Health Matters Day in Albany.
Board members asked clarifying questions about service counts, how lessons are pushed into grades 10-12, and confidentiality of online mental-health resources; staff said the website resources require no login and do not track individual users. The district will follow up on implementation details for secondary push-in sessions and parental notification methods.
