Behavioral health
continuum helps all students
By Xavier Botana
This is the second
of four monthly columns I’m dedicating to discussing four new initiatives in
the Portland Public Schools’ 2019-2020 budget that embody our Portland Promise
goals: Equity, Whole Student, Achievement and People. This month, my focus
is on our initiative to create a robust behavioral health continuum. This
work is connected to our Whole Student, Achievement and Equity goals.
We want students to
have a well-rounded education – which is why we have the Whole Student goal in
the Portland Promise, our district’s strategic plan. We are committed to not
only teaching academics, but also to helping students develop socially and
emotionally so they can attain the skills, habits and mindset for success in
life.
When it comes to
academics, most of us are familiar with the idea of a “continuum” of student
learning. At one end are students who need very individualized support, while
at the other end are very advanced students who seek opportunities to
accelerate their learning.
The same is true
about social-emotional development. We recognize that some students need higher
levels of support, but we also strive to ensure healthy social-emotional
development for all our students. That is why we are building a system of
continuous support around behavioral health.
Social and
emotional health goes hand in hand with academic learning. Teachers are very
aware that one or two students with significant disruptive behavior can take an
inordinate amount of time away from classroom instruction. Having clear
expectations and making sure that everyone understands them is an important
part of a high performing environment in all walks of life.
The foundational
component of the continuum of our behavioral health is the development of a
school culture and climate that reinforces positive behavioral interventions
and supports (PBIS). This ensures that our teachers have the support they
need to have students access learning opportunities.
Chris Reiger, our
director of clinical and behavioral support services, who joined our team last
year, leads our social-emotional development work. We’ve added social
workers and behavioral health professionals to help support this work. But
building the capacity of all of our staff is the key to making this happen.
A significant part
of our new budget initiative was the development of a behavioral health
continuum in our schools. This included reorganizing our former Bayside
Learning Community to create more opportunities to support our students’
social-emotional needs.
We’ve added
programming for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities at Rowe and
East End elementary schools and have strengthened existing programs at the
middle and high school levels. We still have a day treatment program – formerly
Bayside Learning Community, now called the Breathe Day Treatment program. For
students in kindergarten through eighth grade, the program now is located at
Lyman Moore Middle School and it’s at Portland High School for students in
grades 9-12. These changes enhance our behavioral health continuum by allowing
students to participate in school-based programming with non-disabled peers as
appropriate, regardless of their service location.
I’ll close by recognizing
National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Close to 560 of
our students – about 8.2 percent of our total population – are Hispanic and I
am too. Generations of Hispanic Americans have enhanced and enriched our nation
and society. I want our students to know about our heritage and be proud.
