Connection and support

From making schedule changes to developing grant-funded programs, schools and groups within Sweetwater County School District No. 2 are focusing on creating connections and offering support for students.

During Tuesday night's meeting, the School Board heard presentations from Lincoln School administration about recent changes to the school's schedule and from Brittney Montgomery about the Trauma Informed School Services (TISS) grant and new programs.

Changing schedules to build community

"We undertook a big schedule change at Lincoln Middle School and there's some really good, positive things that are coming out of it," Principal Matthew Mikkelsen told the board.

Mikkelsen explained that LMS has made changes to group students in the same grade together, creating three separate schedules for grades 6, 7 and 8. The school's new bell system allows the bell to be isolated to specific areas of the building when it rings. The different schedules also mean that only two thirds of the building is moving at a time.

Sydney Hooten, a language arts teacher at Lincoln, explained that locations in the building have also been organized by grade and schedule. Teachers have moved their class locations so each grade is in a specific area of the building, and lockers for students in each grade have been moved to the same area. This allows students to have less distance to travel and allows teachers to be in the halls with less students at a time so there can be better supervision. Hooten also noted that each grade has their own lunch time and the schedules move through elective classes and main classes together.

The school has also shifted to a core model, with roughly 88 students in each core, according to Mikkelsen. They adjusted the time from 45 minutes in a core to 58 minutes, with elective classes still being 45 minutes. Every student gets two elective classes which rotate each quarter, with the exception of band and choir which are for the full semester.

One of the main goals for the school is understanding students' backgrounds and interests with a focus on building relationships to enhance learning.

Assistant Principal Franklin Bailey explained that lots of research, thought, and planning went into the changes at Lincoln. Some of the ideas came from a conference in New York that administrators were able to attend, which focused on the power of connection and community.

"A lot of the changes that we're talking about are really trying to emphasize the need for a community for not just students but also our staff as well," Bailey said.

Some of the changes include implementing a home room period at the beginning of the day and flex time in the schedule to make sure students have everything they need. Bailey also described the importance of after-school programs and clubs.

"We knew we needed to create additional opportunities for our kids to get involved at school that was not necessarily tied specifically to academics but also wasn't for just the kids who compete in athletics or do band or choir," Bailey said. "We have a lot of students who felt like they didn't know where their fit was."

Lincoln now offers 82 after school clubs and has almost 200 students involved in sports.

"A statistic we're very proud of right now is approximately 48% of our student body is engaged with something extracurricular at Lincoln, whether it's a sport or an after school club," Bailey explained. "There's a tremendous amount of students getting involved."

Lincoln is also using the Character Strong program, which was started last year, to focus on building connections and helping middle school students learn skills like communication and empathy.

Several comments from Lincoln staff members were included with the presentation which shared positive perspectives on the schedule change and core model. Many of the comments focused on the ability to get to know students better, identify and meet their needs quicker, and connect with them to create a community.

"Students feel like they're a part of a small family that knows and cares for them, rather than being just 1 of 200 kids," an 8th grade team member commented.

Mikkelsen added that the changes have also allowed staff members and departments to work together more closely and develop more tight-knit groups.

"It's been very powerful to see our staff work together as a crew," he said.

Assistant Principal Joe Hamel rounded out the presentation by explaining that some things the school wanted to address are already benefiting from the schedule change, but that Lincoln will continue to collect data and see how the changes affect certain areas.

Offering mental health resources

Brittney Montgomery, the Trauma Informed School Services (TISS) community project manager, also gave a presentation to the board to explain progress being made within the district.

SCSD No. 2 was awarded a TISS grant, which is designed to supplement existing mental health services in the community and to try to remove barriers to care for students. The district will be able to use the grant for the next four years to work towards implementing specific goals.

The three main goals for the program are increasing access to mental health and substance abuse services for school aged youth; increasing the district's ability to recognize youth need for trauma-informed services and establishing a learning collaborative to support the grant goals and objectives; and collaborating and supporting existing state infrastructure.

One of the first steps the program took was to create two different referral pathways to identify students who need help and provide access to services for them. Currently there is a referral pathway within the school district and one for the community. The program started receiving community referrals within a day or two of the pathway being created, Montgomery said. Consistent referrals are being made through both pathways now.

The TISS program has been working since July and services started up at the beginning of August. Within just the first few weeks, the program is already up to serving 20-25 students, according to Montgomery. Multiple students are already receiving weekly telehealth sessions, which others being scheduled for intake.

Montgomery noted that one of the most exciting parts of the program is each of the buildings in the district has designated space inside so students can receive services without having to leave campus or worry about transportation.

"We're just going to continue creating opportunities and avenues. . .to find the kids that we know need things," Montgomery said.

Going forward, the program will also be working on offering training for mental health support for youth, developing learning collaboratives and an advisory committee, and continuing to meet with community organizations.

"I think it's very exciting that we have A - this program, this opportunity, and B - just the amount of students that are already receiving services and wanting to receive services," Montgomery said.

"It's a very proactive approach on an issue that obviously is extremely important," Board Chairman Steve Core said of the program.

Several board members expressed their excitement and interest in both the schedule changes at Lincoln and the ongoing progress of the TISS program and the effect they could each have in the future.