STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
The Board is committed to helping all students
adjust and achieve to their fullest potential.
Toward this end, all students who are considered to be
experiencing barriers to learning shall be identified and offered
appropriate assistance. The
REACH team seeks only to improve identification of these students and
provides intervention through appropriate referrals.
R.E.A.C.H. is a systematic process using
effective and accountable professional techniques to mobilize school
resources to remove the barriers to learning and, where the problem is
beyond the scope of the school, to assist the parent and the student
with information so they may assess services within the community.
The Board shall support the establishment of
Student Assistance Programs in the district that are designed to offer
services to students who may be at risk.
Student Assistance shall perform eight (8) basic
functions:
-
Identify
issues that pose a barrier to a student’s learning and school
success.
-
Determine
whether or not the presenting problem lies within the responsibility
of the school.
-
Inform
the parent of the problem affecting the student’s performance.
-
Make
recommendations to assist the
student and the parent.
-
Provide
information on community resources and options to deal with the
problem.
-
Set
up linkages with resources to help resolve the problem.
-
Collaborate
with parent and agency when students are involved in treatment
through a community agency.
-
Provide
a plan for in-school support services for student during and after
treatment.
The board authorizes and directs the establishment
of REACH in the Ridgway High School in the district and empowers REACH
to function within the intent of this policy.
The Superintendent and / or his designee shall
develop procedures for implementing this policy.
REACH
Team
1. The Ridgway High
School will establish and maintain a REACH team comprised of the
following:
-
The building
administrator
-
Guidance Counselor
-
School Nurse
-
Outside agencies (Mental
Health and D & A)
-
Available SAP trained
staff
Members are limited however to staff that have
completed a Commonwealth approved SAP training.
2.
The building administrator will establish bi-monthly meetings to
be used for case management / intervention activities.
3.
Roles will be assigned to each 9 week rotation.
If a team member cannot attend a scheduled meeting, they need to
find a replacement. The
roles that need to be assigned are as follows:
a)
Secretary:
The secretary will fill out the agenda form and present the copy
for the next meeting. The
completed copy of the minutes will be given to the team leader to file.
Minutes are to be taken at all REACH meetings.
The secretary will find a substitute if unable to attend.
b)
Time Keeper: Time keeper will keep track of
time and let group know when only 5 minutes is left so team may
“wrap-up” and conclude the meeting.
c)
Task Master: The taskmaster is to verbally interject
and remind team members to stay focused on issues at hand.
Taskmaster is to keep team from getting side tracked and to
prevent unnecessary information from being discussed.
d)
REACH Team Coordinator: The REACH Team Coordinator
will provide the secretary with the blank agenda form for each REACH
meeting. The coordinator
will lead the discussion of the meeting in an orderly fashion and make
sure that all items on the agenda are discussed.
This person will be determined by the administration and
scheduling. If a faculty
team member is required to do the job then they will be given duty free
time for doing R.E.A.C.H. paperwork.
This person will have the majority of the responsibility for
caring out the R.E.A.C.H. process.
a)
This person will be responsible for the following duties:
1)
To distribute checklists once a referral is made
2)
To make sure guidance makes parental contact when necessary.
3)
To keep dated documentation of all students referred
4)
To address the R.E.A.C.H. team members on the progress of the
above duties at each meeting
5)
To
complete all necessary, end of the year paperwork required by the state
for every referred student.
e)
Guidance Counselor: This person or his or her designee is responsible
for the following duties:
1)
To make ALL
parental contacts
2)
To mail all parental consent forms
3)
To send all
signed parental consent forms to REACH team coordinator for filing purposes.
4)
To contact mental health or drug and alcohol once the signed consent forms are returned.
f)
Administrator: The
administrator is the overall chairperson of the REACH team and meetings.
If the REACH team coordinator is not able to attend a
meeting the administrator will assume his duties.
1)
Non-Office Holding Team Members:
Non-office holding
members will be supportive of all office holding members and their
duties. These members will
be willing to fill in (when given advanced notice) or help out with the
duties of office holding members as needed.
These members will also give valuable input on referred students
during the meetings and will help identify students in need of referral
4.
The members of the REACH team must be trained by state approved
trainer(s). Members must
also receive appropriate update training in order to maintain
professional standards,
5. REACH
Team Maintenance:
All REACH team members will be invited to attend two
maintenance meetings per school year.
The meetings will be used to assess the strengths and needs of
the team and to make revisions as necessary.
This could also include team revitalization, training updates,
and educational presentations that would be pertinent to health, safety
and welfare of the Ridgway High School students.
Referral
Process:
1.
Referrals may come to the REACH team from a variety of sources;
i.e. school staff, students (self or others), parents, community
members, or agencies.
2.
When a referring party identifies observable behaviors that pose
a barrier to school achievement, the concerns should be addressed with
student, appropriate school personnel, or parent prior to the SAP
referral.
3.
Once a referral has been completed using the REACH team referral
form, behavior check sheets will be send out to collect observable
behaviors on the student.
4.
The REACH team coordinator will dispense and collect the behavior
check sheets to be discussed at the next scheduled team meeting.
5.
The REACH team will discuss in the meeting and come to the final
decision on what course of action to take with each referred student
based on the information and the team’s professional certified
opinion.
6.
If warranted, strategic parent contact will be made and written
permission will be obtained by the guidance counselor or his / her
designee.
7.
Drug and alcohol violations must be automatically referred to the
REACH team in accordance with school policy.
8.
Suicide threats and / or attempts are to be handled in accordance
with district procedures.
Data
Collection:
Information about a
referred student may be collected from the following resource:
Behavior Check Sheets – These are to be completed by school
staff who have direct contact with the student.
The information on these behavior checks sheets will be used to
determine the appropriate action by the REACH team.
Confidentiality:
Confidentiality of
students records is governed by the Federal Educational Records Privacy
Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Act (The Hatch
Amendment). However,
student rights regarding privacy and confidentiality will be waived if
it is suspected that he/she is abused or is a danger to himself /
herself or others.
Record
Keeping Policy:
1.
REACH TEAM DOCUMENTATION – The REACH team will be responsible
to document the following:
a) Meeting agenda
forms
b) Every attempt to
contact parents
2.
REACH student records on each student referred to the team will
be kept on file until the student graduates from high school.
After the student graduates, the records are to be shredded and
disposed of by the coordinator or administrator.
Records will be destroyed the fall semester after the student’s
graduation year.
3.
REACH records on students who do not graduate from Ridgway High
School will stay on file for at least five years from the last day of
the student’s enrollment in the district or until the student reaches
the age of 21. After that
time they will be shredded and disposed of by the coordinator or
administrator.
4.
Complete REACH records for each student referred will consist of
the following:
-
Original student
referral
-
All completed
faculty check sheets
-
Parent / Guardian
consent form (if applicable)
-
REACH worksheet
5.
The administration and REACH team retains the right to keep the
records on each REACH referral and not destroy them after graduation if
it is deemed necessary by the team.
6.
Parents / Guardians will be granted access to these records upon
request in accordance with FERPA guidelines.
7.
Transfer of information must follow Ridgway School District
policy.
