Jessieville, Fountain Lake receive health center grants

Fountain Lake and Jessieville elementary schools on Monday were selected along with two other schools in the state to receive funding to operate schoolbased health centers.

Each school selected by the Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Health, will receive $ 542,000 over a five-year period to implement the school- based health centers, ADE announced in a news release.

The other schools are Darby Junior

High School in the Fort Smith School District and Sheridan High School in the Sheridan School District.

The release said that the four schools joined 36 others around the state that have received state grant funding over the years to operate School- Based Health Centers.

“Awarding these grants could not have come at a better time. With our schools facing unprecedented health challenges this school year, these grants will give these four schools the opportunity to expand their partnerships, complete renovations, and be prepared

to offer health services at the beginning of the next school year,” ADE Secretary Johnny Key said in a news release.

Key said that the services provided would not only help schools better assist students but will provide essential care to teachers and families.

Fountain Lake Superintendent Michael Murphy said the clinic will allow the school district the opportunity to serve the community with extended services that would include physical and mental health opportunities in due time.

“The design of the center serves physical health. It’s a partnership with a local medical facility, in which we’ll be providing services on- site,” he said.

Jessieville Superintendent Melissa Speers said the grant is a “phenomenal thing” for the students, the staff members and the community.

Fountain Lake’s health center is currently being remodeled and will be across the street from the elementary building. Murphy said the Fountain Lake community may remember it being two preschool classroom buildings.

“The centers (will) remove physical and mental health barriers by offering these services on campus. As a result, academic achievement approves, and the number of absences is reduced due to health issues,” the news release said.

Murphy said that the district wants to take care of the physical health and needs of the students and support the families.

“We will provide services based on parental consent,” he said.

Fountain Lake has not yet selected a medical provider but is interested in a partnership, Murphy said.

Speers said that the district has decided to partner with CHI St. Vincent, noting that the district is renovating an existing area on campus to help with physical, mental and emotional needs.

“Eventually, we hope to have an optometrist and a dentist that will come maybe once a month,” she said.

It was the second time Jessieville had applied for the grant, according to Speers, after its first grant application was unsuccessful.

Amanda Sarver, Jessieville Elementary School principal, said two years ago was the first year when she applied for the grant when it came across the commissioner’s memo from the state department.

She said that she knew that this was something that Jessieville Elementary would need. She was given a rubric telling her what she needed to improve after the school did not receive it the first time.

“I wrote the grant based on the rubric from the previous year and the grant requirements,” she said, adding that she was not surprised “but shocked and so excited that we received it this year because it is competitive.”

“Grant applicants undergo a comprehensive, competitive application process that includes internal and external reviews and an on-site visit,” the news release said.

“Grant awardees partner with local health providers to implement three main components of School-Based Health Centers: physical health services, mental and behavioral health services, and school health outreach programs. Many centers also offer additional services, such as oral health and optometry services,” it said.