Mental health

The Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board of Education talked extensively Monday about the growing need for mental health services in the schools.

The board heard a presentation from high school counselor Christine Schmidt and middle school counselor Anne Toohey about mental health issues for students, how more schools are offering services and the benefits a school-based mental health therapist would offer the district.

A therapist could offer onsite counseling for individuals and groups as well as provide staff mental health education, they said.

High school principal Steve Verhoff said help is needed, adding “Our expertise is education, not mental health. As we are seeing more and more students coming to our counselors with mental health needs, it is outside their area of expertise.”

Superintendent Gretta Kumpf talked briefly about a Terra Metrics Life Skills Assessment tool the district plans to start using in January, with parental permission, for students in the middle and high schools.

The tool is designed identify students who may be at risk and needing support in “social emotional wellness,” a program description said.

Board members and others said the district needs to be prepared to, with the help of others, work with those identified as needing support.

NANCY BOWMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER