Niskayuna district reports progress on SHAPE assessment, plans mental‑health team and universal screener

Tim Fowler, assistant superintendent for student support services, told the Academic Committee that the district’s recently completed SHAPE (School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation) assessment found measurable growth since 2022 but also identified persistent gaps in impact measurement and data systems.

Fowler said the SHAPE review — a national, research‑based rubric for school mental‑health systems — was completed by a broad team of counselors, psychologists, social workers and instructional leaders. He described the seven assessment domains and said the district has “nearly doubled our tier 1 efforts” since the prior review, citing the adoption of a universal SEL curriculum and expanded training and staffing.

Mike Granigan, director of counseling, summarized the side‑by‑side scores and the team’s discussions, adding that the district moved some items from “emerging” to “progressing.” “We’re celebrating some of the strides we made, particularly with our Tier 1 interventions,” Granigan said.

Presenters identified three near‑term priorities: (1) forming a district mental‑health team to own follow‑up work and keep momentum; (2) identifying and piloting a universal student screener to establish a population baseline rather than relying only on students who surface as red flags; and (3) building consistent data and reporting systems so the district can measure program impact and support funding requests.

Staff outlined practical next steps. The district plans demo sessions with potential screener vendors this spring, develop clearer entrance and exit criteria for tier‑2 and tier‑3 group interventions, and centralize a list of community mental‑health providers. Amy Dawkins, the district’s new 0.5 SEL coordinator, was described as the immediate point person for planned professional development aimed at about 50 staff who supervise high‑energy times such as recess and lunch.

On funding and sustainability, presenters said the district has increased social‑work and counseling positions in recent budget cycles, but noted the assessment found insufficient formal impact‑measurement systems. The team advised that better measurement is necessary both to evaluate services and to support continued investment.

Board members asked how the district will define success. Fowler and Granigan said success will look like consistent, districtwide tier‑1 implementation with fidelity, accompanied by declining numbers and intensity of students requiring tier‑2 and tier‑3 services once screening and data systems are in place.

The presentation concluded with an offer to provide a full written report to the board; staff said they will upload that report and follow up with a timeline for the mental‑health team and the screener research.