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District highlights wellness centers, STARS clinicians and a state mental‑health grant
Summary
Board heard a student wellness update outlining STARS clinician deployment across sites, more than 1,000 wellness‑center visits, and use of an SBHIP settlement grant and CYBHI partnerships to fund services; trustees and staff stressed the school‑based model and parent partnerships.
Board members on Feb. 12 heard a detailed update on district mental‑health services and school wellness centers.
Leslie Bauman, the district STARS coordinator, described the clinician network and on‑site wellness center staff who support general‑population students and those with educationally‑related mental‑health needs. She said the district recorded 128 STARS referrals at Nevada Union, 61 at Bear River, 22 at Silver Springs and four at Godotie since the start of the school year, and described groups and interventions offered (mindfulness, nicotine‑cessation support, lunchtime activities and referral pathways to community providers).
Tiffany, the Nevada Union wellness‑center coordinator, said the centers offer quiet time, art and puzzle activities that help students regulate emotions and that clinicians use a referral process to escalate students for higher‑level care. The board heard that the district has recorded more than 1,000 wellness‑center visits this year and about 200 unique students accessing services.
Funding and partnerships: staff credited an SBHIP settlement grant (roughly $800,000) with helping open and sustain the wellness centers and described district participation in the state Children, Youth and Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI). The district also partners with TAD Health for HIPAA‑compliant EHR entry and billing to pursue available state reimbursement for school‑based services.
Representative quote: "This is a place for students to go when they need to take a break...we're providing groups in there for students who want to not continue to use nicotine or weed or any kind of substance," said STARS coordinator Leslie Bauman.
Why it matters: trustees praised the expansion of mental‑health supports as a tool to keep students in class and to provide early interventions. Staff reiterated legal limits on confidentiality for disclosures that indicate danger to self or others and emphasized parent partnership whenever possible.
Next steps: trustees invited community tours of the wellness centers and asked staff to continue reporting usage and outcomes as the programs expand.
