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Coordinator describes MatForce mentoring and identifies dozens of students needing support
Summary
Student Success Coordinator Heather McCallum told the board that MatForce mentors and community partners help rural students facing challenges; she said 79 students had been identified and emphasized the district’s use of House meetings, homeless funds and community connections to support students.
Heather McCallum, Beaver Creek’s Student Success Coordinator, presented the board with an overview of MatForce mentor programming and described efforts to identify and support students facing barriers to academic success.
McCallum told board members that rural students encounter unique challenges and that the district collaborates with community partners, including MatForce, to connect families with services. When asked whether students are receiving help, McCallum said, “Yes, if we know about it — we do our best to identify and support.” She also noted a local grief-support camp around fall break and said staff use House meetings that mix grades to surface concerns about students.
Board members pressed for scale and sources: Susi Edgington cited 79 students identified (about one-third of a referenced school population). President Lincoln Thomasson noted that “27% of the district’s students are faced with challenges” and asked how that compares to state figures; Mrs. Wheeler said the district has prioritized addressing local needs first and has not yet performed a deep comparative analysis.
McCallum, Mrs. Wheeler and partners (including MatForce and local probation/law-enforcement liaisons) are pursuing better data-sharing and referral pathways; Wheeler said current gaps often reflect paperwork and input from boots-on-the-ground responders rather than policy constraints.
Why it matters: the discussion laid out the district’s front-line approach to student supports, the scale of need identified in the presentation and limits to current data-sharing with enforcement agencies. The board encouraged continued coordination with community partners.
