Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Student services director outlines teen‑center expansion, McKinney‑Vento supports and new student code of conduct
Summary
Student services director Heather Castano described efforts to expand teen/wellness centers, improve case management and supports for 161 McKinney‑Vento students, highlighted a clean federal audit and outlined a forthcoming student code of conduct to guide discipline and prevention work.
Student Services Director Heather Castano opened by summarizing the department’s mission to strengthen students’ physical, social and cognitive wellness and said staff are focused on both crisis response and preventive supports.
Castano said the department runs weekly case‑management meetings to guarantee due process and that changes to policy and procedure have reduced unnecessary escalations. "Our mission is to strengthen students' physical, social, cognitive wellness while ensuring safe, equitable learning environments that prepare them for the future," she told the board.
She reported the district has six nurses and that a health aide at Sterling recently administered an EpiPen, preventing a likely ambulance call. Castano described a strategy to expand teen centers or wellness rooms to every school by repurposing warehouse inventory and focusing on school‑specific models rather than identical centers everywhere.
On federal programs, Castano said the district had no findings in its most recent audit. She also reported McKinney‑Vento services support 161 students and noted operational concerns about new food‑kit regulations that take effect July 1, which could affect weekend meal distribution plans.
Castano said the department is implementing CHAMPS training for principals and teachers and is rolling out a student code of conduct aligned with prevention and local case‑management goals. She asked the board for guidance on cell‑phone policy implementation (discussed separately) and offered to draft policy language for the policy committee.
Next steps: Student services will draft the student code of conduct, collect further administrator input on teen‑center models, and provide policy language for the cell‑phone accommodation process as required by state law.
