Program improving behavior, grades of Staples students
WESTPORT — A program to help students with mental health disorders has had a positive impact, with students showing an improvement in grades, behavioral problems and overall attendance, officials said.
Assistant Superintendent Michael Rizzo, said that Westport has long been committed to students’ wellbeing. He said the new Effective School Solutions program has been beneficial to not only the students’ mental health at Staples, but the school’s finances by offering services so students don’t have to be placed out of district.
“We know and we have discussed at length the increasing mental health needs of our students,” Rizzo said. “Anxiety, depression, mood disorders, school refusal and many other issues present themselves daily and impact the ability of our students to function in school to learn and to live their lives.”
He said this existed before the pandemic but COVID has exacerbated it.
The district added the ESS program in the fall in an effort to address the growing mental health crisis and to address the added pressure of the pandemic. The deal is year-byyear and only at the high school, however, Rizzo said the intention is to stick with the program in the new fiscal year.
He said the district is also looking at whether the program might be appropriate at the middle school level.
“I think it is something we have to consider,” Rizzo said. “We are seeing students younger and younger with more significant needs.”
ESS officials said the mental health crisis facing students has been rising over the years. The population of students with significant mental health disorders has increased by 76 percent since 2011, according to the recent ESS presentation to the Board of Education.
One in five students struggle with a mental health disorder and rates of suicidal ideation has increased for those 11 to 21 years old by 45 to 60 percent compared to when the pandemic was just starting, according to the presentation.
“Studies show that quarantine significantly increased rates of anxiety and depression among children,” said Cheryl Planten, executive clinical director for ESS.
The program lets the district provide services to students who previously would have been sent out of district. Four Westport students previously serviced outside of district, at an estimated cost of $80,000 each, are now being educated at Staples High School. Three other students who would have likely been placed out of district this year, have also stayed in Westport.
With the seven students staying put, the district saved nearly $560,000 in out-of-district expenses, double the $280,000 fee the district paid to bring in Effective School Solutions.
Within the program’s 15 students, 75 percent have better grades, 92 percent have a decrease in school discipline, and 92 percent have improved attendance, according to the presentation.
“The ESS program in Westport School District is making a critical impact on mental health outcomes for the district, while also creating a cost savings for district financial health,” Allison Whitman, a regional director for ESS, said.
ESS was founded in 2009 in New Jersey and has since spread to nine states and nearly 100 school districts. Its offerings are split into a multi-tiered system of support for students and teachers.
Tier 3 is intensive in school clinical support with wraparound services, which ESS handles. There are check-ins, group therapy, family sessions and support provided throughout the school day. Tier 2 is less intensive. Tier 1 involves awareness and prevention, which is handled by Staples staff.
“We’re so pleased with ESS being here,” Staples High School Principal Stafford Thomas said. “It is certainly looked at as a resource and everything that you are see here, we are feeling. Certainly, in reaching our students. This really helps all of our students.”