Meridian highlights student leaders, counseling supports and mental-health staff in end-of-year reports

At its regular meeting the Meridian School District highlighted student leadership and a districtwide counseling and wellness presentation that the administration said is improving attendance and reducing office referrals.

Fifth-grade "self managers" were introduced during a short recognition segment. Nate Beatty, identified by the board as the IRE assistant principal, described the program and said the students selected "earned their spot" through an application and interview process.

District counseling staff gave an overview of a comprehensive counseling program organized around academic support, social-emotional learning (SEL) and postsecondary planning. Presenters said the district uses the Panorama student survey to target classroom SEL lessons; as one presenter said, Panorama helps "identify specific subgroups of students who need support" and then counselors deliver classroom lessons aligned to those needs.

On academic supports, staff described a state-required "high school and beyond" platform the district began using this year (starting in grade 7) that provides career information, application tools and an internal application/letter-of-recommendation workflow. Counselors said the platform will allow parents to access student plans, improve transitions between districts, and reduce duplicate transcript work.

Mental-health professionals (MHPs) were a central point: staff said Meridian is the only district in Whatcom County with an MHP in each building and reported roughly 51 counselor referrals to MHPs this year. One presenter described daily MHP duties (greeting students, individual sessions, group facilitation and hallway check-ins) and noted work with families and teachers.

Counseling staff also reviewed behavior interventions and tracking. They said the district measures office referrals (ORs) per 100 students and reported a recent 10% decrease in ORs, attributing change to tiered interventions, progress monitoring and family partnerships. Staff detailed an intervention threshold: when a student reaches six ORs in a three-month span they move to a formal behavior plan with replacement behaviors and monitoring.

In public comment, parent Bruce Baum asked why some FFA after-school programs (including Vet Science) might not be available next year and whether the cause was state funding reductions, low participation or staffing changes. Board and staff noted general budget pressures and staffing adjustments but did not provide a definitive confirmation of program cancellations during the meeting.

The board's reports closed with celebration of school awards, higher parent-conference attendance and stated next-year priorities such as explicit writing instruction and continued focus on student self-efficacy and resiliency. The meeting adjourned after approval of several business items.