New focus on mental health at Collier schools after year tainted by Parkland, Irma

In the wake of a school year disrupted by Hurricane Irma and a mass shooting at a Florida high school, the Collier school district is ramping up mental health initiatives to encourage positive student behavior and foster the development of resiliency and grit.

More than $1 million will be spent to add seven school psychologists and eight social workers to the district’s mental health staff, for a total of 31 psychologists and 16 social workers. Some mental health employees will receive school crisis intervention and trauma care training, at a total cost of $25,000, and teachers will receive training in suicide prevention and youth mental health assistance.

The initiatives are paid for with $1.1 million the state is requiring the district allocate toward mental health, although Superintendent of Schools Kamela Patton said the district would have dedicated resources toward emotional and psychological services regardless.

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Hundreds of Collier students were left homeless after the hurricane, causing emotional and financial stress, and dozens of students brought weapons to school or made threats after the Parkland shooting.  

A full-time psychologist will be assigned to each of the district’s seven high schools, as well as Golden Gate Middle, Immokalee Middle and alternative schools. Before the new hires, high schools had an assigned psychologist once or twice per week and middle schools twice per week.

Due to the new state mandate, every district in Florida is hiring additional school psychologists, making it difficult to find qualified applicants, said Collier schools spokesman Greg Turchetta via email.

“However we are more than confident that we will be able to fill these positions,” he said. “The district has previously, and will consider if needed, contracting for psychological services.”

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Nationwide shortage of school mental health staff

Whether due to lack of funding, lack of qualified applicants or a lack of concern for student mental health, schools nationwide have long suffered from a shortage of school mental health staff, according to the National Association of School Psychologists.

The association recommends a ratio of no more than 700 students per school psychologist; after the new hires, the district’s ratio will improve from about one psychologist for every 2,000 students to one for every 1,500 — more than double the recommended ratio.

Turchetta did not make Dena Landry, psychological services coordinator for Collier schools, available for an interview.

In an interview with Karen Stelmaki, executive director of exceptional education and student support services, that included Turchetta, superintendent Patton and associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction Peggy Aune, Stelmaki did not directly answer questions regarding how the shortage of mental health staff at Collier schools affected students and employees when students began acting out after Parkland.

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“We looked at the needs and shifted things around to provide the right support to students,” Stelmaki said.

Any time a threat is made, the district sends a team of mental health staff and a sheriff’s deputy to determine the level of risk posed by the student who made the threat. School psychologists perform a risk assessment while social workers provide follow-up counseling, meet with the student’s family and connect them to mental health resources outside the school system if needed.

At least 27 threats to Collier schools were investigated in the 12 days after the Feb. 14 shooting in Broward County, compared with fewer than a dozen throughout the entirety of a typical school year.

Four students were arrested, and three were taken into protective custody. The district has not yet released data regarding how many students were referred to alternative schools.

Related:Copycat threats to Collier schools surged after Parkland shooting attack

List:27 threats to Collier schools since Parkland

‘One of the most anxious generations we’ve ever had’

Even before Irma and Parkland, youth mental health in Collier County had been on the decline, said Scott Burgess, CEO of the David Lawrence Center.

The center works closely with the school district and has staff stationed on the threat assessment team and in schools.

“This is arguably one of the most anxious generations we’ve ever had,” he said. “They were already at a tipping point, but you throw in a natural disaster and it becomes really problematic.”

Parkland made matters even worse, he said.

“It elevated some of the issues that were bubbling under the surface for some kids,” Burgess said. “Then it erupted a little bit.”

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Burgess said he thinks an increase in mental health staff and training will have a significant impact on the well-being of Collier students.

The district’s new focus on mental health will also include several social emotional learning initiatives, which will cost about $800,000.

These include the installation of “buddy benches” where elementary students can find designated peers to play with and a “We Dine Together” program that encourages students in leadership roles to engage with their classmates who eat lunch alone or appear isolated.

Twice a month, all district schools will screen videos that cover topics such as how to deal with failure, build relationships and develop grit.

If a student is dealing with a traumatic experience such as the loss of a family member, a new notification system will alert teachers via email. Staff can then decide whether the student needs extra time to complete an assignment or delay a test.

The goal is make sure students feel cared for and included, Patton said.

“A big part of education is being college- and career-ready, but it’s also being life-ready,” she said. “Our social emotional priorities are really going to help students become life-ready and understand that relationships are key.”

The district will administer a twice-annual survey to students in grades three through 12 to help measure the success of the new initiatives. The survey, which will be conducted anonymously, will ask students about their sense of belonging, their perception of their school environment and their sense of self.

The district will also consider other indicators such as academic performance, attendance and discipline.

Impact on the budget

Although the state increased its annual allocation to Collier schools by $9 million for a total of $402 million, the district expects to see an overall deficit of about $15 million.

This is due in part to new requirements from the legislation passed after the Parkland shooting that mandates the district allocate $1.1 million to mental health services and $1.6 million to hiring additional law enforcement. About $3.8 million from the state’s grant is required to fund student growth and $500,000 to fund charter schools.

After accounting for several other new costs, including an increase of $4.3 million in health insurance and $3.4 million in charter school growth, the district estimates a deficit of $8.2 million.

After teacher salary negotiations, that deficit is expected to increase to about $15 million. 

“The state is not funding education (adequately), and on top of it they’re making us spend our money the way they want to spend it,” Patton said.

The district has never dipped this far into its reserves and hopes to recover some mental health costs through Medicaid reimbursements.

How to get help

If you or your child is in need of mental health services, call 239-252-0900 for Collier County Youth Resource Center or 239-455-8500 to speak with a Sheriff’s Office Youth Relations Bureau deputy, school guidance counselor or David Lawrence Center staff member.

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