School District to offer Family Connections sessions
By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The East Troy Community School District pupil services team will host several Family Connections sessions to offer parents/caregivers information and resources on a variety of mental health issues facing students.
Mental health is a hot-button issue throughout the world, luckily it is being spoken about more openly nowadays so that students and adults are able to get the help they need when possible. Some students, who don’t address their issues, can grow up to have mental health problems in their adult life which they will hopefully seek help for. This can come in a few ways, whether it be using something akin to medical marijuana from business such as purple penthouse, for example, or they go to regular therapy sessions, the choice is up to them and how they want to combat their mental health journey, that is why it is essential to talk to them about mental health now.
Director of Special Education and District Assessment Coordinator Kate Harder said the district has made a concerted effort to host monthly parenting events to address some of the problems families are facing.
“Some of the topic are based on data from the YRBS (Youth Risk Behavior Survey) and others are concerns parents bring to us, the things their kids are talking about and they’re are not sure how to handle them and they’ve asked for more information on those topics,” Harder said.
According to the numbers from the anonymous Youth Risk Behavior Survey given to sixth- through 12th-grade students in the East Troy School District last spring, about 35 to 40 percent of the middle and high school students in the district report they feel stress “most of the time or always.”
The number of kids reporting they feel “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks in a row” that they stopped doing some of their usual activities. Almost 23 percent of the district’s middle schoolers reported those feelings on the survey and nearly 25 percent of the high school students did, keeping track with the state average. There is no state comparison for the middle school students.
The number of kids reporting they have tried to kill themselves. Almost 7 percent of the Middle School students said they had attempted suicide in their lifetime.
At the time, Harder said while the numbers for the district were, for the most part, in line with the state average, the district was looking at how to help the kids who are struggling. The Family Connections series one way the district is working to help along with staff development workshops and training in alcohol and drug addiction issues.
“We’re really excited about the upcoming sessions and getting the information to parents and families to help address those emotional concerns at home with anything their kids might bring up,” Director of Special Education and District Assessment Coordinator Kate Harder said.”
The upcoming sessions include guest lectures on topics about self-harm, anxiety and substance abuse. The series will end with a fun, family night with dinner and activities for all.
The upcoming sessions include:
- Jan. 27, 6:30 p.m. – Dr. Angela Stanley will present “Preventing Adolescent Self-Harm by Fostering Connection and Promoting Resiliency” in the middle school auditorium, 3143 Graydon Ave.;
- Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m. – Dr. Patric Mattek will present “Disappear Fear: Effective Strategies to Combat Anxiety” in the middle school auditorium;
- March 8, 6 p.m. – Your Choice to Live (Substance abuse with teens and families) in the middle school auditorium; and
- April 14, 5 p.m. – (CO)OPERATION LEARN at Prairie View Elementary School, 2131 Townline Road. Free dinner and healthy fun activities for the whole family.
For more information, contact School District Social Worker Kim Pluess at (262) 642-6760, ext. 5242.
