high has implemented social mediation opportunities for students in conflict. Disjointed communication or involvement of other peers (group chats) muddies relationships. Through staff-facilitated conversation and face-to-face dialogue, students have been successful in identifying conflicts and generating appropriate resolutions. At the high school level, students are actively balancing academic achievement with social activities. With numerous opportunities at their fingertips, including college credit courses, performing arts, competitive sports, and leadership roles, students have the chance to find passion and enjoyment throughout our hallways. While we encourage students to build their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, we are also vested in providing support to develop their socialemotional wellness skills. Through collaboration with the teachers, mental health team, and administrators the high school is developing small groups as a tiered intervention to help students build these skills. The subject matter ranges from executive functioning to perfectionism. The small groups will pair staff instruction with workbook activities outlining tools and strategies. Through small group interaction, students have the opportunity to build social relationships with other students and engage in meaningful peer feedback. Our charter demonstrates mental health is a priority based on the robust staffing of service providers. Each campus staffs counselors on-site as well as access to school workers, school psychologists, and an occupational therapist. The elementary school also has a social skills instructor. Mental health is an indicator of social-emotional wellness, and it extends to the capacity for engagement in meaningful educational experiences. In support of “whole child” development, we not only track student academic progress, we also dedicate time to focus on student monitoring social-emotional wellness. Across the three campuses, surveys are given biannually to measure student social behaviors and emotional wellness. With this information, we can generate student-specific support through tiers two and three as well as evaluate our tier one approach to building relationships with our students. Our future is bright at Providence Hall because of our incredible staff who are dedicated to our Patriots. To support our staff members, we offer Employee Assistance Program opportunities through Blomquist Hale. This service offers online workshops, counseling resources, and support groups. We look forward to future growth through continuing education and collaboration with our Charter School Community to best serve our Patriots and their families. Maura Yellen Biekert is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. She is in her fifth year working at Providence Hall. Maura received her degrees from the University of Connecticut and the University of Hartford. Her specialty is child clinical counseling. In addition to her years in the school setting, she also worked with survivors of human trafficking. Outside of her career, she enjoys golfing with her husband and their dog, Bogey. Through collaboration and research,we have put into place innovative and successful supports to address our students’ mental health needs. 19
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