United Local School District

Mental Health Team

We recognize that mental health and social-emotional awareness are key security components in the school environment.  

United Local is working in partnership with the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and the ESC of Eastern Ohio.

Describe the goals your district has for its use of the Student Wellness and Success Funding.

Climate - According to the Search Institute County Student Survey information, United Local students in some grade levels are indicating a less positive school climate compared to county peers.  United Local’s staff climate survey results indicate an increased need for climate support.

Increased Assets - According to the Search Institute County Survey information, United Local students in some grade levels experience a decreased number of assets compared to county peers. 

Student Engagement - According to the Search Institute County Student Survey information, United Local students in some grade levels are experiencing a decreased level of involvement and engagement within the school than county peers.

Parent Involvement - According to the Search Institute County Student Survey information, some United Local students are reporting a decreased parent Involvement compared to county peers.

Depression/Suicide Awareness - According to the Search Institute County Student Survey information, some United Local students are indicating an increased identification of depression and attempted Suicide than county peers.  Additionally, according to the Center for Disease Control, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in children ages 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24 (CDC, 2019).

 Social/Emotional - According to the United Local staff climate survey results, teachers are spending an increased amount of time assisting students with social/emotional needs.  

Diversity - According to Data USA, In 2017 there were 43.8 times more White alone residents in Columbiana County, OH than any other race or ethnicity.  (https://datausa.io/profile/geo/columbiana-county-oh#demographics). 

Trauma Training - Students at United Local experience a wide variety of traumas and adverse childhood experiences that may increase risky health behaviors, chronic health conditions, and low life potential (CDC, 2019).  

Substance Abuse Prevention - According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Ohio had the second-highest rate of drug overdose deaths involving opioids. 

By concentrating on the various identified topics, United Local School District (ULSD) believes it can strengthen the overall experience of it’s students and allow them to further their educational and career opportunities.

How did you develop your implementation plan?

Through various meetings of stakeholders, (District Leadership Team, Parent Nights, Parent and Student Surveys, Staff Meetings, Staff Surveys) the team. Data included were student, parent, and staff  surveys, CDC information, ODE information, and USDE information.

Community Partner Category Included in the Development of Your Plan:

• Mahoning County ESC

• Columbiana County ESC

Did you use an existing improvement process or develop a new process in establishing your implementation plan?

A combination of processes were used to create the plan. The district began using the existing District Leadership Model and broke out into smaller groups to look at different problems. We are currently taking steps to fold these areas into the strategic plan for overall district improvement.

Do you have a logic model you can share?

Our team did not utilize a logic model but we will be exploring its use in the future.

What good things from your district can you share in relation to the topic of student wellness and success?

Overall, there is more awareness among the staff and students of the importance of student wellness within our community. As the program grows, we will hopefully see gains in student opportunities and self-awareness.

What obstacles or challenges are you experiencing or anticipate experiencing as you implement your plan?

• Because funding is limited, barriers form because of prioritization of needs.

• Being able to collaborate and use data, we were able to prioritize different plans.

Do you anticipate your expenditures or activities changing in the second half of the biennium? If yes, please describe how they will change.

• We continue to examine and reassess all of our programming and utilize our District Leadership Team through that process.

• COVID-19 was the large unexpected problem encountered. We will begin meeting in June 2020 to examine the effects and look at needed changes to the plan.

Each of the following questions will be answered for each initiative being implemented using Student Wellness and Success Funds.

Initiative Title: Positive School Climate

Initiative Description:  School Climate is the environment that is developed and maintained within a school building.  It has the ability to encourage learning and improve the quality of interactions between students, families, and educators.  When working to increase a more positive school climate, the United Local School District will be focusing on building student assets, increasing student engagement, parent involvement, substance abuse preventions, and depression/suicide awareness.  Additionally, the United Local School District looks to increase cultural awareness, become more trauma informed within classrooms, and provide increased social/emotional resources. 

Initiative Status: This is an existing initiative that United has shifted to funding through the Student Wellness and Success dollars.

Initiative Category: Operations

Community Partner Category Included in the Planning for this Initiative: Educational Service Center

Community Partner Name(s): What specific organizations participated in the planning process?  Mahoning County Educational Service Center

Beyond the general community partner categories from the previous question, please name the specific organizations that collaborated with your district: 

Leader’s Edge

Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association (MCTA)

Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board

FOCUS

Family Child First Council

The Counseling Center

Brightside Project

Insight Clinical Counseling

Rising Scholars (Kent State)

Handle with Care

Family Recovery Center

Medicaid Billing ID for any mental health or physical care service partners (enter the partner name and Medicaid Billing ID): For any health care providers who bill Medicaid for reimbursement of services, provide their Medicaid Billing IDs: N/A

District Partnership: Identify any other districts with which you partnered for this initiative.

District Partnership Description: None

Allowable Use of Funds: 

Grade and Number of Students Directly Impacted by the Initiative: Select all that apply and enter the number of students for each selected grade: All students K-12 (1050)

Grade and Number of Students Indirectly Impacted by the Initiative: Select all that apply and enter the number of students for each selected grade: All students K-12 (1050)

Funding Sources Used for this Initiative: Are other funding sources supporting this initiative? If so, what other funding sources are you using? General funds? Federal funds? Other grant funds? General funds, Title (Fed Funding)

How Will You Measure the Success of this Initiative? What data are you planning to collect to measure the success of the initiative? Student attendance? Student achievement? Qualitative survey data? Please include the timeline of data collection. Student and parent survey results, increased student achievement, discipline records, attendance, PBIS referrals, SAP referrals