1 IN 4 KIDS
IN NORTH DAKOTA ARE STRUGGLING WITH A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE.
Northern Cass School Counselors Ashley Krinke (L) and Keira Oscarson (R)
IN NORTH DAKOTA HAVE ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.
Northern Cass Public Schools Superintendent Cory Steiner
Foundation and the Northern Cass Public School District to bring a licensed therapist from the Village Family Service Center on site to the school once per week. Ashley Krinke and Keira Oscarson are the two counselors for the Northern Cass Public School District, which has a K-12 student population of nearly 650 students. “Each week, we are able to sit down with the mental health provider to discuss how we can best assist the students’ needs in our building, which is invaluable in our effort to educate and care for the whole child," says Oscarson. "Because families are connected to us and the provider, we are bridging the communication gap that often exists between agencies and schools. We can start to incorporate tools and techniques in the classroom and best support students during the course of their school day, which was previously difficult when their mental health services took place 35 miles away. “This fall, when we made phone calls to parents to tell them that their kids would
BUSINESS
WISDOM
NEARLY 1 IN 10 STUDENTS
now have access to mental health service right here on-site at the school, you could feel this sense of peace come over them."
The Data Is Proving the Impact of the Investment When it comes to investing donor dollars into new initiatives, we're focused on measuring the impact the dollars are making and the faces of the students and families receiving the help. The counselors at Northern Cass Schools are working with students and families to measure data on how many students receive services, along with their attendance, discipline referrals, classroom behaviors and mental wellness. This data is beginning to demonstrate that students are attending class more often and functioning better in class and at home. While this kind of data can only give a snapshot of each student at a given time, it's affirmation that our investment is undoubtedly better preparing our students today for a successful life and career down
the road. Mental health is often an obstacle that prevents a student from graduating high school and pursuing college, training and a career path. Research shows that a student who does not graduate from high school is twice as likely to live in poverty throughout their life and more than 60 times more likely to be incarcerated. When we look ahead to today’s students being our future workforce, we not only want to be supporting students so that they are successful but also so that they are equipped to contribute to the skilled workforce we need to see our regional business economy prosper and create a a healthy, growing community.
United Way of Cass-Clay UnitedWayCassClay.org
"My experience is that there's no better time to start than now." BILL ERICKSON Owner, Total Imaging FARGOINC.COM
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