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Minuteman presents expanded student-services supports: homelessness, foster care, re-entry and mental-health training
Summary
Assistant superintendent for student services outlined programs for homelessness, foster care, ELL, re-entry after hospitalization, and a plan to train school staff in Mental Health First Aid; the district reported about a 45% special-education enrollment and said it will continue partnering with local providers to expand access.
Dr. Perau, Minuteman's assistant superintendent for student services, told the school committee that the district has expanded supports for students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, English-language learners and students with disabilities.
Dr. Perau said the district's homeless liaison and foster-care liaison coordinate transportation and wraparound services, and noted the difficulty of forecasting transportation costs because student circumstances can change quickly. The district also runs a re-entry-after-extended-leave program (modeled on a bridge program) to help students return after hospitalizations or extended medical leaves: "most partial hospitalizations are about five to 10 school days," she said, and staff prioritize essential related work and schedule make-up shop time where needed.
She reported that roughly 45% of Minuteman's students receive special-education services (an above-average rate compared with regional indices) and that about 12% of students have autism as a primary disability—an increase from roughly 1% a decade ago that the district said requires new supports and planning.
On mental-health supports, Dr. Perau said the district has four guidance counselors and four clinician social-worker/adjustment counselors who deliver on-IEP services and school-based counseling. The district used a state mental-health grant to send seven staff to train as Mental Health First Aid trainers and plans to train the entire staff during professional-development time. She described school partnerships with a community provider (Advocates) that provides outpatient services on campus, reducing transportation barriers and cost for families.
Dr. Perau emphasized confidentiality and that small counts (for foster-care and homeless populations) are not published publicly to avoid identifying students. Committee members asked for more granular counts privately; Dr. Perau said she can provide numbers to committee members outside the public meeting but would not publish very small counts in open session.
One direct quote: "It's completely student driven; no one plan looks the same as the next," Dr. Perau said of the re-entry program.
What comes next: committee members asked for additional detail to inform budgeting (noting transportation and service fluctuations); the district will continue to report on program implementation and staffing needs.
