Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mental Health Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Florence 3 highlights SEL services and expansion after presenters report large drops in attendance issues and discipline referrals
Summary
District SEL staff told the board they served 264 students last year and reported an 88% drop in attendance issues and a 58% reduction in discipline referrals among students receiving services; administrators outlined a $3 million expansion to reach about 240 more students and presented student and parent testimonials.
The Florence County School District 3 Board of Trustees heard a presentation Nov. 20 from district social-emotional learning (SEL) staff about the program’s results and planned expansion.
Dr. Commodore and the SEL team said the district provided weekly 1:1 SEL services to 264 students last year. "Based on those cumulative assessments, what happens is that A) we saw an 88% decrease in attendance issues among the 264 students that are seen by us, with a 58% drop in discipline referrals," Dr. Commodore told trustees during the presentation.
The SEL staff described partnerships and contracts with outside providers (named in the presentation as Stepping Stones, Hope Health and Justice Works) and said the district received $3,000,000 to expand services, which district leaders said would enable clinicians to serve roughly 240 additional students. Staff said clinicians will be placed at schools based on skill sets and student need.
The presentation included a short video of students speaking about the counselors’ work; one student in the video said a counselor "makes me feel like I have a person to talk to whenever I'm experiencing anything." Parents who spoke at the meeting credited school counselors with helping children manage emotions, stay in class and improve behavior and engagement.
Why it matters: district leaders said SEL supports contributed to reduced discipline and attendance issues and that the expansion aims to place more clinicians in schools to reach students with unmet mental-health needs.
What’s next: SEL staff will implement the expansion through existing contracts and newly added clinicians; the board will receive updates and locations for clinician placements as work proceeds.
(Reporting based on the SEL presentation and parent testimony at the Nov. 20, 2024 meeting.)
